Velocitas Eradico
by Saya Moonshadow
Summary: The Great Spirit offers one wish in exchange for service as a Toa. Your job now is to discover what's worth trading your soul for. Does any such thing truly exist? And what mistakes must be made in order to find out?
1. Praeludium

**EDIT 6/15/14: A couple of changes are being made to this fic, mostly to fix things that would contradict future events and some typos I somehow managed to miss.**

**Oh hai, fanfiction-dot-net, it's been quite a while, huh? Yup. My job has been eating me alive since I got it, but hey, my paycheck is freaking awesome and I kind of need money to exist. Also, recovering from eye surgery is a bitch, but I am so close to being all better that I can practically feet it. Grrr. In the meantime, here's some writing to keep myself from going insane.**

**This was heavily inspired by an anime called **_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_**. Despite the name, it's not your typical Magical Girl anime, and is one I wholeheartedly recommend. So please do yourself a favor and watch it!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize as canon most likely belongs to me unless otherwise noted. Everything else belongs to LEGO.**

**Velocitas Eradico**  
><strong>By: Saya Moonshadow<strong>

_**Praeludium**_

"_Never regret anything. At one time, it was exactly what you wanted..."_

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><p><strong>I WILL GRANT YOUR DESIRE<br>ANYTHING YOU REQUIRE**

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><p>"<em>What is your name?"<em>

"_I...I'm Lhikan. My name is Lhikan...sir."_

"_And do you accept the responsibility of a Toa, Lhikan?"_

"_I do."_

"_Even knowing the dangers it could pose to you and to your wellbeing? It is not a job to be taken lightly."_

"_I know that, and...I really don't mind. I just want to help. I want to save people."_

"_Then there is something you do not mind risking your life for?"_

"_Well..."_

"_Ah...I thought not. Then perhaps you are not yet ready to accept this burden...I understand. It is a lot to ask from one as young as you..."_

"_No! No, I _am_ ready! I know what I want, and I know I'd be willing to die for it if I had to!"_

"_Then you are indeed ready? You know what you will ask for in return for the powers and station I shall grant you, and you shall have no regrets once it is done?"_

"_Yes. I mean, no. Or, I mean...I mean, yes, I know what I'm going to wish for, and no, I won't regret it. Ever."_

"_There is no going back once the deal is made. Even if you choose to save your wish for later, even if you do come to regret this, I cannot take back what has been given."_

"_I know. And I don't mind. I'm not going to regret it, and I know what I want to wish for, so there's no need to wait, either."_

"_You are absolutely certain?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Very well, then. Unto you, Lhikan, I grant the power of Fire, and the Fire Greatswords as your tools. You shall lead your team to victory in my name, and bring justice where it is needed, dedicating your life to serving the needs of the people of this world."_

"_I...ah..."_

"_The first touch of power will take some getting used to. There is no need to rush. When you are recovered, you may tell me what you would like to wish for."_

"_...I'm ready now. I'm ready."_

"_You are absolutely certain that it is what you want?"_

"_I am."_

"_...very well, then. What is your wish, Lhikan?"_

"_I wish..."_

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><p><strong>HERO OF THIS WORLD YOU WILL BECOME<strong>

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><p>"<em>What is your name?"<em>

"_It's Nidhiki."_

"_And do you accept the responsibility of a Toa, Nidhiki?"_

"_Yup."_

"_Even knowing the dangers it could pose to you and to your wellbeing? It is not a job to be taken lightly."_

"_Yup."_

"_Then there is something you do not mind risking your life for?"_

"_If there wasn't, would I bother being here right now?"_

"_No...I suppose not. Hmhmhm...you have a sharp tongue. Not many others would dare speak to a Great Spirit in such a manner."_

"_I...argh. I apologize. I don't mean to be rude, but really, asking me all this is just a waste of time. I know what I want, and I'm not afraid to die for it if that's what it comes down to. You don't have to worry about me suddenly trying to pull back or anything."_

"_You are certain?"_

"_Completely. I never go back on my word."_

"_I see...then you are ready?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Hm...unto you, Nidhiki, I grant the power of Air, and...yes, the Wind Scythe as your tool. You shall take the position of deputy to your team leader, and bring justice where it is needed, dedicating your life to serving the needs of the people of this world."_

"_Nnngh...agh..."_

"_Take your time recovering. It is difficult to get used to, but you will manage. Though I must say...I have never given one with your disposition this particular set of powers before. Normally, one with your personality gains the mantle of Ice. It will be interesting to see how you manage."_

"_...s-so I'm an experiment for you, then?"_

"_No, not at all...though I see your mouth has yet to be affected by the strain of granting you power. Are you ready to make your wish? You do not have to make it immediately...many have chosen to wait until they need it most."_

"_No, I'm ready. I know what I want."_

"_You are absolutely certain that it is what you want?"_

"_Yes."_

"_...very well, then. What is your wish, Nidhiki?"_

"_I wish..."_

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><p><strong>BUT I BEG YOU, TAKE HEED<br>MIRACLES ARE NOT FREE**

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><p>"<em>What is your name?"<em>

"_It is Tuyet, my lord."_

"_And do you accept the responsibility of a Toa, Tuyet?"_

"_With honor."_

"_Even knowing the dangers it could pose to you and to your wellbeing? It is not a job to be taken lightly."_

"_I do."_

"_Then there is something you do not mind risking your life for?"_

"_I...I believe there is, yes. Yes, there is. There most certainly is. I know it."_

"_Then you are indeed ready? You know what you will ask for in return for the powers and station I shall grant you, and you shall have no regrets once it is done?"_

"_Yes. On both counts."_

"_There is no going back once the deal is made. Even if you choose to save your wish for later, even if you do come to regret this, I cannot take back what has been given."_

"_Yes, I know. I won't regret it. I need this to happen."_

"_You are absolutely certain?"_

"_I am."_

"_...I see. Unto you, Tuyet, I grant the power of Water, and the Barbed Broadsword as your tool. You shall lend support to your team, and bring justice where it is needed, dedicating your life to serving the needs of the people of this world."_

"_Hah...ha...ha..."_

"_Are you well?"_

"_...ha...yes...yes...I'm fine. I'm completely fine. Never been better."_

"_You recover quicker than the others do...hm. That will serve you well as a Toa...are you ready, then, to make your wish? Or will you wait until later?"_

"_I don't need to wait. I'm ready."_

"_You are absolutely certain that it is what you want?"_

"_I know _exactly_ what I want."_

"_...I see. What is your wish, Tuyet?"_

"_I wish..."_

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><p><strong>WHAT HAS BEEN GIVEN CAN'T BE UNDONE<strong>

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><p><em>I gave you exactly what you wanted, right down to the letter.<em>

_So why, then, do you still suffer so?_

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><p><strong>AN: ...yup. A slight return to <strong>_**Bionicle**_**, if only because I was going to write this for the short story contest at BZPower under the title "Monsters in the Dark", and had to back out because it was getting to be so damn long that it no longer qualified as a short story and there wasn't enough time to write something else. Oh well. Maybe I'll be able to enter the next one...**

**I wouldn't go so far as to call this completely AU, but it's more like...an alternate timeline, I guess. More will be explained in the first chapter, since this is just the prologue and all. Hopefully you are enjoying it so far and will continue to read as it goes further.**

**...by the way, we seriously need to get some proper character tags for this section. I realize that this series has more characters than you can shake a stick at, but really. Arc titles do not equal characters.**

**As usual, I encourage you to review, though it's not strictly necessary. It would be nice, though...**


	2. Cubilulum album

**Have I ever mentioned how much I completely adore all of you? No? Well, I do. Seriously, guys - ten reviews just for a prologue? You have no idea how happy that made me XD So, a big fat THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, alerted, or just plain looked at this thing! *glomp***

**I also apologize if the story seems kind of dry or doesn't seem to go very well with the summary at first. I'm trying to build up to the real action as believably as I can, and I want to showcase how the world I'm presenting works as much as possible to avoid any confusion later on. So please bear with me just a little longer!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize as canon most likely belongs to me unless otherwise noted. Everything else belongs to LEGO.**

**Summary: The Great Spirit offers one wish in exchange for service as a Toa. Lewa's job now is to discover what's worth trading his soul for. Does any such thing truly exist? And what mistakes must be made in order to find out?**

**Velocitas Eradico**  
><strong>By: Saya Moonshadow<br>**_**Cubilulum album**__**  
><strong>__**(The White Room)**_

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><p>It was a beautiful night.<p>

The clouds that had been covering the sky had been mostly blown away by the wind, leaving the moon free to shine down on the ground below. It could get especially bright down in the South, where the island of Daxia was located, and visibility was wonderful as a result. It was indeed a beautiful night, and on any other like it, Lesovikk would have been taking full advantage of the opportunity to go stargazing.

Unfortunately, Helryx had gotten that look in her eye again.

It was a look that never spelled any good for the people it was directed at, and Lesovikk had come to honestly dread its arrival. Nothing good ever came out of Helryx's determined face, for anyone involved (and for a good number who weren't involved, too).

"_You will be there tonight at nine PM sharp,"_ her summons had told him, and he didn't dare be late. She didn't have to threaten, and he actually didn't know what she would do if he was, but interactions with Helryx were like that. She ran a tight ship, and everyone knew it. Just about the only one who didn't mind or who wasn't at least unnerved by her was Botar, who also happened to be part of some sort of warrior race from the deep South. Violence was his way of life, and Helryx's penchant for it just endeared her to him, in a way that was both amusing and somewhat unsettling.

Though at this point, Lesovikk couldn't truly say she frightened him anymore either. She had once, and she still made him nervous from time to time, but the true fear had fled a long time ago, once he had learned that there were far worse things in the world than a merciless Toa of Water.

Far, far worse things...

The past several millennia of house arrest were beginning to wear down on him, almost as much as the loss of his team had. It wasn't fair, he thought rebelliously, almost childishly, and not for the first time. He was the only one not allowed to leave Daxia, and the urge to steal a boat and flee was sometimes almost too much to handle. Right now the urge was particularly strong.

He could practically hear the ocean calling out to him, making him remember better times, when he was free to go where he pleased and do what he wanted, and served the Great Spirit directly as the leader of his first ever elite task force.

Those were the days, but as much as he missed them, he honestly wondered if he'd ever go back to them if given the chance. Disillusionment and bad memories had a way of spoiling things for a being.

In contrast to the bright moonlight outside, it was dark in the halls of the Order of Mata Nui's fortress, to the point of almost needing to feel his way around. Not that anyone would be able to hide from him. That hadn't been possible for many years now.

Regardless, he had yet to train himself to stop flinching at shadows. The reflex had once saved his life, and even though the hyper-awareness and house arrest had long since taken away the immediate need for it, he allowed it to continue.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, Lesovikk arrived at the designated meeting room. The doors creaked annoyingly as he pushed them open, and even louder as they closed behind him. Someone really had to take care of that...

A movement in the corner of his eye distracted him, and he whirled around, sighing in relief to see that it was only Johmak. The dark-colored female gave him a polite smile in greeting, which he returned with effort. He didn't like being in this room, even though it had been a while since they had come together to discuss this particular issue.

"How do you fare?" Johmak asked quietly. "You seem agitated."

Lesovikk shrugged, struggling to appear nonchalant. "It will pass. I just do not like having to come and discuss this issue again."

She blinked, uncomprehending. "It's for the good of the planet," she said. "I understand it's troublesome, but shouldn't you be happy to help?"

Once, he had been. He had been more than happy, in fact. But that had been in the days before, when he was still...

He was spared answering by the arrival of Axonn and Brutaka, who were seldom seen apart. He gave a small smile. That was a friendship that was bound to last, on top of them also being the Order's most successful team. As of yet, they had only had one failure, which was justified given just _who_ it had involved. But even with that, the fact that both had made it back alive was still a marvel.

"Lesovikk, Johmak," Axonn greeted, holding out his fist. Brutaka stood behind him, silent as the corridors outside the room.

Lesovikk touched his fist to the golden warrior's, smiling broader now. Unlike Johmak, Axonn had worked with Toa several times before, and it showed. He knew the proper greetings and how to set them at ease. Brutaka, on the other hand...not so much. If anything, the darker warrior almost seemed to _dislike_ Toa and their role as the Great Spirit's main defensive force, though this had never been voiced out loud.

But that was something Brutaka would have to work out for himself, if it came down to it. It was none of Lesovikk's concern if Brutaka disliked him for being a Toa, though he had a feeling it was for another reason as well. He also had a feeling that he knew what that reason was. But it was justified, he reminded himself. Brutaka had every right to look down on him for it; hell, he looked down on _himself_ for it.

The next two to arrive together made him groan.

Jerbraz and Botar. At least Jerbraz was tolerable, if not somewhat annoyingly arrogant at times. Botar was just irritating, plain and simple.

Whereas Jerbraz tempered his arrogance with genuine charisma and kindness, Botar was selfish and callous, and couldn't have been prouder of it. A member of a carnivorous, war-like species from the deep Southern Islands, he respected only those with power, drive, and ferocity...all of which Helryx fortunately - or unfortunately, depending on one's perspective - possessed. He was also one of the more sadistic beings Lesovikk had even encountered, on top of also being almost completely un-empathetic, to an absolutely maddening degree.

And as if all that weren't enough, he had the largest and sharpest set of fangs Lesovikk had ever seen on a sentient creature, the Skakdi of Zakaz notwithstanding (and whether or not one could count them as "sentient", anyway, was a matter of opinion). This was due to his species being almost completely carnivorous (although Botar had once loftily informed them all that sometimes his people ate the leaves of a certain tree to aid with digestion). In fact, Lesovikk had once witnessed the teleporter pick a small rodent out of a trap and simply shove it into his mouth, without even bothering to kill it first.

Just remembering made the Toa of Air feel ill. He ignored Botar's smirk (how did the blasted creature know what he was thinking?) and returned Jerbraz's boisterous greeting with a nod. Amusingly, Botar had a handful of the aforementioned leaves with him, and was shoving them into his mouth one by one. He had to stifle a laugh at the thought of the teleporter picking them off a tree like a Brakas monkey might.

"This meeting couldn't have come at a worse time," Botar's loud voice complained as he continued to chew on his current leaf. "I have criminals to catch. What, does she think tracking down those idiots is something I can just up and leave off and then come back to later?"

Lesovikk refrained from mentioning that he wasn't the only member of their Order taking time off from an extremely important job for this meeting.

Jerbraz grinned. "Getting too old for the job, Botar?" he asked, eyes narrowed teasingly. "Or is it just a little too hard for ya?"

The black-and-yellow creature snorted. "No," he said scathingly. "I just don't like having the process of my work interrupted. It takes time to plan out captures, and with this summons, that was a total of _three_ exquisitely planned ambushes gone in a flash. My targets will all have moved on by now, and that requires more damned _planning!_" His red eyes narrowed in an annoyed scowl.

Jerbraz merely shook his head in response.

"Oh, shut up," Axonn's voice joined the conversation. "You take entirely too much pleasure in it as it is; a little frustration will do you good."

"And why do you say that?" Botar asked, his body turned towards the larger being, over-sized fangs glinting ominously.

Axonn, however, was not impressed. He never was. "I say that because you have gotten a little too big for your armor with the size of that ego of yours. Not getting your way for once should teach you a valuable lesson."

Before Botar could retort (or retaliate), Axonn was distracted by Brutaka jabbing him in the side to witness a moment of tension as Jerbraz stared at Johmak, and she at him. No one said anything, wondering what would happen, but then Johmak turned away and the moment was over. Jerbraz frowned, but otherwise showed no outward sign of having been bothered by what had just occurred.

Brutaka snorted, making Jerbraz's glare snap over to him. In response, Axonn hit the larger warrior's arm, and it seemed Jerbraz was satisfied, though his glare lingered a little too long for comfort.

Lesovikk gave a mental sigh. It seemed he was destined to find drama wherever he went, regardless of where it was or who he was with. It was just a shame, he thought - they weren't Toa; they weren't forbidden to have that kind of relationship, and yet they were both too stubborn to see just how fortunate they were.

Pity...

The next arrival was a very welcome one; tall and black and silver and scarred, but still carrying himself proudly despite the many battle marks littered across his frame. A large gun, which, if Lesovikk recalled rightly, was called a Cordak Blaster, hung from a large holster at his right hip, and two other, stranger weapons that he couldn't identify hung from the left one, and the rest of this being practically bristled with barely-hidden weaponry. A large creature everyone in the room recognized as an Energy Hound, with long, sharp back-spikes and a mouth full of teeth that put even Botar's to shame, lumbered at his heels, a thick chain attached to the heavy metal collar around its neck.

Hydraxon, guardian of the Pit and unofficial weapon master of the Order of Mata Nui, nudged Spinax aside to hold the door open for the final member of their meeting, and the person who had called them all there to begin with. As usual, she strode in with an air that was both regal and irritable at the same time. No surprises there. Helryx's default state was irritable, often with a dash of aggravated-about-something-or-another thrown in for good measure. Absolutely nothing about her had changed in all the long years Lesovikk had known her, and he was willing to bet it never would.

The only thing odd was the large metal box she was carrying with a strange reverence uncharacteristic to her. Everyone else stared at it with interest; Lesovikk, on the other hand, felt his hands go clammy.

It was almost funny, he thought, how the others all seemed almost excited to see it, whereas he, who had once accepted the so-called "gift" within it, felt nothing short of dismay whenever he so much as thought of it. They all knew what that "gift" could do - had done to him specifically, but witnessing its effects and actually experiencing them were two entirely different matters. He had desperately hoped that this could be avoided for at least another couple of centuries, but he saw now that such hopes were in vain. A sigh escaped him, causing Helryx's gaze to land on him for a split second before it was directed over to Botar instead. The corners of her mouth turned downward.

"This isn't snack time," she said irritably. "Finish those up immediately or throw them outside."

Botar sneered at her, but stuffed the remaining few of his leaves into his mouth and began crunching on them loudly. Helryx's eye twitched.

"Right," she said in a tight voice. "I trust you've all figured out why we're here by now."

There were a few mutters of assent (along with the last crunches of Botar's leaves), but otherwise it was quiet. Lesovikk couldn't even bring himself to nod, much less speak.

That done, Helryx immediately launched into the beginnings of an obviously prepared speech. "I expect better results than the last few tries. And by that, I mean I want a full team this time, of six or more. The last few have been lacking, with only _three_ having passed during the very last one. It was insulting."

"Well, ma'am," Jerbraz said conversationally, "maybe if the tests were a little more straightforward and less, um, difficult..."

"They are difficult for a reason," Helryx snapped, displeased with the interruption. "As for being 'straightforward', what part of 'use all your resources' do they not get, year after year?"

Jerbraz didn't answer, instead focusing on the ceiling with more interest than was necessary.

"And," Helryx went on, seeing as how Jerbraz was apparently now more interested in counting the holes in the ceiling than in her, "none of them ever seem to realize their greatest resource of all. It's mind-boggling how we can bring so many so-called geniuses together in one space, and they _still_ don't catch on."

Botar laughed, teeth gnashing in a most unpleasant motion. Lesovikk imagined he could see a remnant of the teleporter's last full meal in them, and felt almost sick again. He shuddered, drawing a quick glance from Axonn, who smirked knowingly.

"Teamwork, you mean? What notion of it do they have?" Botar laughed maliciously. "Those who pass are invariably those who were the best at what they did - they never saw a need for it, and they never _had_ a need for it, and they all learn the hard way. Some of 'em don't even get that far b'fore they die for bein' so stupid. Except that one pair, Lhii and...what's-his-name. I liked him. They worked good together."

Axonn snorted derisively. "_You_ would," he said, his tone almost mocking. "Though do you _really_ need to be reminded of what became of _that_ little venture?"

"He had conviction," Botar said. "Always told it like it was."

"Except for the part where he was actually spying for the Shadowed One?" Axonn glared. Being such a loyal being, betrayal of unforgivable in Axonn's book, Lesovikk knew, especially considering the effect it had had on said traitor's former teammates.

No, Lhikan had not been the same since Nidhiki had gone rogue. Not in the least. The once-cheerful Fire Toa had become serious and almost withdrawn, only appearing in public when absolutely forced. It was such a shame, too; the boy had been the perfect picture of a hero. Strong, principled, self-sacrificing, kind, and goodnatured. He and Nidhiki had been like a younger, less-ruthless version of Axonn and Brutaka, right down to the sometimes-vitriolic but nonetheless powerful friendship they had shared...or had _seemed_ to share, anyway. Obviously several centuries of comradeship and brotherhood had meant nothing to Nidhiki, for if it had meant anything to him, then he wouldn't have done what he had ended up doing.

Not even Naho, the one remaining member of their team besides Lhikan himself, had been able to break him out of it, though it wasn't for a lack of trying. Sometimes people just didn't want to heal, though it honestly didn't look like she would be giving up any time soon.

Helryx's annoyed growl of, "Shut up, all of you," broke Lesovikk out of his train of thought, and he glanced back at the Order's founder with renewed interest. What exactly was she planning for this, if not the usual thing?

"Now," she said, shifting the box in her arms as she stood in front of them all, "back to our original topic of conversation. The test I propose is one of survival, but with a twist. There will, of course, be wits involved; any fool can survive in the wilderness with a bit of dumb luck. No, what I propose is this: they will be given orders to find and bring back a certain item, and must do so within a given time limit. Otherwise, they obviously fail."

Brutaka laughed darkly. "Let me guess, there's gonna be a limited number of these items an' not enough for all of 'em. Right?"

Helryx nodded. "Exactly. I trust you all see where I am going with this?"

There were nods and mutters of "Yes, of course," all around.

"There will, of course, be two tests," Hydraxon spoke for the first time, his deep voice rumbling throughout the room. "That is how it has always been. However, this time we have decided upon combining the two tests. A test within a test, one might say. If they fail either one, or both, they will immediately be disqualified from the exam."

Botar snorted, drawing a stern look from the black-and-silver warrior. Spinax growled from his place by his master's side. "Yeah, that's all fine and dandy," he said, careless to the looks he was receiving, "but wasn't the goal here to _increase_ the number of participants that actually make it? Puttin' a test within a test or whatever crap Hydraxon was going on about just sounds like it'd make it even harder. Do that, and I guarantee your number of passes will go straight down to nothing."

"And that's where I'd be willing to say you are wrong," Hydraxon replied calmly. "There is no other way to pass this test. Any fool with half an eye will be able to see the requirement once it gets going."

"At least three quarters won't," Botar said back. "Remember last time? I haven't seen that much sabotage since the first time I snuck into Xia to watch the Mountain Climbing Ceremony. Go on all you like about how Matoran are such good, moral creatures - I've seen 'em at their worst, and pitting them against each other like this is a pitch-perfect excuse for them to make good on every single ugly thought they've ever had."

"Yes, thank you for stating the whole point of this," the larger being said, and for once the teleporter floundered for a response. "If they cannot get past that dark part of themselves, then we don't want them to pass. In order to pass, one must be fully in control of both halves of oneself, especially the darker. And those who aren't in control of that part of themselves will _not_ pass this test, I can tell you that right now. It's the ones who can curb it that we want."

Johmak spoke up. "And...you are certain this new test will expose the ones who meet that requirement?"

Hydraxon nodded. "Yes. For the past several weeks, I have been going over the results from previous tests, and it is nearly all the same - too much conviction, not enough reason. They want to win for the sake of winning, even before they know what the prize is. The point is not to find those who will do anything to win; it's to find those who will do what it takes to win without sacrificing the better part of themselves in the process."

"What about the rest of us?" Jerbraz asked before the black-and-silver warrior could continue. Spirits, but Hydraxon could be longwinded at times... "Obviously you and Helryx will be proctoring, but what about us? Were we really just called here to discuss this, or are we going to be involved in some way, too?"

"Yes, you will all be involved," Helryx replied for Hydraxon. "There's no point in having you here if you're just going to sit around; you might as well make yourselves useful."

"And by that, you mean we get to mess around with the examinees, yes?" the teleporter practically hissed with excitement.

Helryx frowned at him and then at Brutaka, who looked almost as excited. "Yes, that's what I mean," she said finally. "But that _also_ means you are to go easy on them. No maiming, no permanent scars, no mental trauma. Nothing worse than frustrating them. Understand?"

Botar looked slightly disappointed at these words, but quickly got over it in favor of imagining how he would trip up potential exam passes.

Lesovikk took the moment to voice his own thoughts. "But what of the matter of the winners' wishes?" he asked. Everyone turned to face him, making him uncomfortable. He hated, absolutely _hated_, being the center of attention, but it was necessary if he was ever going to get his point across. "Should we limit the kind of wish they can make if they pass the exam and claim the...the prize? What you're asking for is to get some creative Matoran to win, so wouldn't it stand to reason that they'd also get creative with their wishes?"

"The kind of wish one can make has already _been_ limited," Johmak reminded him. "Several times, in fact. To do so anymore would most likely just cause more harm than good, or even keep them from making a wish that might end up saving their lives, or the lives of their teammates or other Matoran."

Lesovikk was not convinced. "Yes, I know, but I've seen what irresponsible wishes can do, and-"

"You'd know a lot about irresponsible wishes, wouldn't you, Toa Katora?" Brutaka interrupted him. "Back off, grass stain - you have no right attempting to dictate the actions of others, not when you're the reason a Toa of Air hasn't led a Toa team since your own time."

For a moment, Lesovikk felt his throat tighten with both pain and fury - pain at the reminder of his actions, and fury that this...this..._brute_ would dare bring it up to him in such a manner - and unconsciously, his right hand gripped the long sword sheathed at his side. It had been a long time since he had felt such emotions, and the reprieve from the weary blankness that usually gripped him was both horrible and exhilarating. He'd forgotten he had the ability to feel anything so strongly, and it was so welcome, even if the emotion was pure, unbridled hatred for the dark-colored being in front of him.

He never got to make a move, however, as Axonn shoved Brutaka behind himself, and Hydraxon personally moved in front of Lesovikk. The Toa of Air blinked up at the black-and-silver warrior, almost uncomprehending. Why was he in the way?

"Are you calm?" Hydraxon's deep voice rumbled at him, cutting through the haze of rage that was clouding his mind, and once again, Lesovikk knew relative peace.

Rather than answer, he merely bowed his head. And although Hydraxon took this as enough of a submission to let it go and move back to his original place, Lesovikk couldn't bring himself to feel horrified or ashamed of it, as he might once have. Instead, he just felt exhausted once more.

Belatedly, he realized he was still gripping his sword and released it, wincing as the joints in his hand protested at having squeezed its hilt too tightly. He shook it slightly to get the soreness from his fingers, allowing his eyes to drift over to Brutaka, who appeared completely normal and wasn't even bothering to look back at him, instead rolling his eyes as Axonn admonished him in hushed tones.

He knew Brutaka disliked him, and always had. But right now, he had a feeling he disliked Brutaka almost as much as the darker warrior disliked him. Maybe even more so.

"Now then," Helryx said, thankfully drawing everyone's attention to herself and away from Lesovikk, "back to business. We have only discussed one portion of the exam, and almost nothing of your levels of participation in it." She unfurled a map Hydraxon handed her and held it up to the wall, circling a large portion of it with her finger. "This is where the main event will be held. You all, with the exception of Hydraxon, will be stationed at various points before the exam begins; once it does, you will all move throughout the area and..."

Lesovikk honestly heard nothing else, though he knew he would berate himself for it later. All he could think about was how badly he wished he were anywhere else but here. In fact, had he not already used the single favor granted to him by the Great Spirit in exchange for service, he might have used it to be anywhere other than in that room right then, and to be as far away from the island of Daxia as it was possible to be.

But he had already used up his wish. And on Daxia he was, and on Daxia he was willing to bet he would be staying for the rest of his life.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And so it starts! I'm trying to take this one kinda slow, since I know I had a tendency to rush the first few chapters of a lot of fics in the past. Sigh. This is the first time I've gotten so pumped about a fic in a <em>long<em> time, though, so I want to make it as good as possible.**

**The stuff about Botar's race is nearly all made up by me. As far as I know, there's pretty much no canon info on his species, except that they're from the south and are all capable of teleporting (and are all apparently sadists). So I'm taking a few liberties here. He's such a fun character, it's really too bad he died. Then again, that's the curse of being an interesting background character - you might be killed off to show just how real shit is starting to get. And his poor replacement apparently didn't even get a name...ah, Greg Farshtey, you torture me so. You keep doing in all my favorite characters. Still, Botar remains one of the few people who ever managed to stick it to Teridax and actually get away with it, and that is awesome. At least until Icarax came along and crushed him like a bug, but anyway...**

**I really do hope you all are enjoying this so far, despite the, um, less-than-action-packed chapter. I'm still not quite used to writing the characters in this chapter except for perhaps Botar and Lesovikk, so apologies if they seemed off in some way, particularly Hydraxon. I unfortunately have not had a chance to read any of the canon stories he's appeared in, so all my info on him comes from his BioSector01 article and asking other fans to describe his personality for me. Hopefully I managed to nail him decently.**

**Again, thank you all so much for the lovely reviews! You guys are awesome!**

**EDIT: Fixed some typos and whatnot, along with changing my penname back to what it was before. Woo.  
><strong>


	3. Scaena felix

**So...uh, it's been about a year. You all have my deepest apologies. Over half of this chapter was finished as far back as last May, but then I hit a block where almost nothing _Bionicle_-related was coming to me. To hopefully make up for that, this chapter is clocking in at 31 pages. It's easily the longest single document I've ever written, and I'm kind of drained. I had thought of splitting it up, but eventually decided against it because...of reasons, I guess. But regardless, here it all is, in one big dose.**

**Um, also – there is a LOT of expanded universe for this fandom. I mean, like, _A LOT_. To the point that I'll never remember it all even doing my utmost best (and my parents don't call me a goldfish for nothing, I'm afraid), so, as much as I hate to admit it, I'm probably going to get some things wrong even _with_ this little alternate timeline thing here. Sigh...**

**Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize as canon most likely belongs to me unless otherwise noted. Everything else belongs to LEGO.**

**Velocitas Eradico**  
><strong>By: Saya Moonshadow<br>**_**Scaena felix**__**  
><strong>__**(A Happy Scene)**_

The island of Mata Nui was, as usual, warm and peaceful. Lhikan Mangai liked warmth. It came with the territory of being a Toa of Fire, but he wasn't sure how he felt about peaceful.

He'd nearly forgotten what it was like to not be completely on edge, couldn't shake the lingering doubt that there was really no such thing as "peace", kept imagining that there was always something there, watching him. Waiting for him to let his guard down so it could strike and kill him. Spirits knew it had almost happened a countless number of times...so perhaps his paranoia was justified...

A hand on his arm made him jump, and he just barely kept from releasing a blast of heat to drive off the contact. He took a deep breath; in, out - it was just Naho. It always was. There was no need to get nervous or violent. Especially not the latter.

"Calm down," her warm voice said. As always, it was soothing enough so that he truly did feel his shoulders beginning to relax. "It's only for a little while, and then we can go back."

All they had to do was find the Matoran most recommended for this by their Turaga. Simple enough. Then, they'd have to bring them all back and announce what they'd be doing and watch them fall to pieces like Rahi fighting for a scrap of meat...

"I know," Lhikan said, keeping his voice light. "I just wish we weren't the ones to have to do it."

Naho gave a soft laugh. "We're the ones she trusts the most. An honor, right?"

He made a false gagging motion that sent her into a fit of giggles.

He managed a smile at last. Naho was truly a wonderful friend, capable of setting him at ease even through the worst of his paranoia. Sometimes he wondered how the hell she had avoided it herself - lasting negative effects were a common staple of Toa-hood, and paranoia was one of the worst - but he was grateful for whatever kept her as the same old Naho he'd always known. He didn't know what he'd do if something were to happen to her, or if she were to become just as melancholy as he could get at times.

No, Naho was best when she was happy, and he was determined that she stay that way. He'd make sure of it.

"If only Lesovikk were here," she sighed suddenly. Lhikan glanced up at her sharply, and she hurriedly explained, "He's a good judge of character. Nothing gets past him."

"You know he wouldn't be able to come even if Helryx let him."

"I know, I know," she said, waving him off impatiently. "It's just wishful thinking. Still, it sucks. The most powerful Toa of Air in the world, and he's stuck on Daxia all the time. Can you imagine how awful that must be? I think I'd die."

"It's for his own good," he reminded her.

Her mouth pressed together, but she finally nodded and dropped it. "Hm. True."

He was also grateful for her ability to move on from uncomfortable subjects so easily.

"Alright, then!" Naho exclaimed, startling him with the sheer vehemence of it (though he grudgingly admitted that he startled rather easily to begin with). "First village! Let's get going!"

Lhikan groaned as she grabbed his arm and tugged him from the shore and towards the large collection of huts floating on giant lily pads in the bay. He absolutely _hated_ water, especially in large quantities, though he'd never told Naho this. He suspected she already knew, anyway; she was rather perceptive like that and had always had a certain talent for reading people like books.

In a way, perhaps it was best to get Ga-Koro over with first. At least it would be done and out of the way right off the bat.

As Naho strode confidently ahead of him, Lhikan hung back a bit. Never the greatest public speaker to begin with, he had always absolutely hated speeches. That his only remaining friend was willing to take that burden from him was a blessing, though certain others had often argued that, as leader of their team, _he_ should be their public face. He'd never paid it any heed; Naho could say what he meant better and in half the words, so in his mind, it was perfectly acceptable to leave P.R. duties in her hands.

Matoran began to swarm excitedly around them, and he quickly blocked them out besides the usual polite responses in favor of reviewing what he knew of the island.

Like the larger, more industrialized Metru Nui, Mata Nui was home to six communities dedicated to six elements - the most common combination on top of that. Fire, Stone, Earth, Ice, Water, and Air. The terrain was widely varied, an oddity for an island so near the equator. Some quirk of geography had even allowed it to have a snow-capped mountain. He still had yet to figure out how _that_ had happened.

Then again, legends stated that this island had been blessed by the Great Spirit himself, and had even been named after him. Perhaps it was by _his_ will that the great mountain remained forever covered in ice and snow.

The local Turaga were rather eccentric, but nice enough once one got to know them. He simply hoped that was still the case; the less conflict, the better.

He hated conflict, though he had become rather good at settling it.

Lhikan had been to this island in the past, but the only district - village, more like; everything here was rather rustic - he'd been to for any length of time was Ta-Koro, the village of Fire. A good place, home to an active volcano and brave Matoran. Hopefully at least one of them would pull through during the test, though remembering the last few times, he was beginning to doubt this. Then again, he'd been surprised before. And this island had always had a good feel to it.

Naho chose that moment to grip his arm, gaining his attention.

"Yes?" he asked, looking at her. Heat threatened to rise in his face as he realized he had been utterly spaced out...and that everyone had noticed.

She smirked at him, indicating the blue Turaga who stood patiently in front of her. "Turaga Meiko says she received our correspondence and has chosen five of her best Matoran to accompany us," she told him. He blinked, moving his gaze from her to the five Ga-Matoran who had seemingly materialized out of nowhere behind their Turaga.

When had they gotten there? Just how zoned out had he _been?_

...oh well, things here were apparently finished, and with seemingly no problems. That was all he cared about.

"Take care of my girls for me," Turaga Meiko said to him in a high, cracked voice that reminded him of a breaking seashell. "They're not exactly fragile, but all the same, I'd like to make sure they're safe. They _are_ Matoran, and _you_ have a duty to them, mind."

"We understand, Turaga," Naho assured her. "You have our word that they'll be perfectly safe."

Yeah, until they got to the part where they were pitted against each other and everyone else...

Lhikan closed his eyes and shook the thought off. He had to be optimistic, otherwise he'd go insane. His own test, where he'd first met the ones who would become his teammates, had been much more straightforward than the one Helryx had described to him. Form a team with five others from other districts, none of whom you were allowed to know directly, and retrieve the heavily guarded object you were assigned to, then make it back to base with the object in tact and damaged as little as possible. Along with trying not to get it stolen by other, less honorable yet more enterprising, teams.

They had gotten lucky; as it turned out, there was only ever just the one object, a strange stone that glowed when touched, and it had been complete hell keeping it safe. It had gotten stolen once, and it had been worse than hell trying to get it back. But in the end, their efforts had paid off, largely due in part to the ruthless determination of a certain Le-Matoran he had somehow become fast friends with.

That was a dangerous train of thought, and he shook it off as well. Right now was not the time to be dwelling on the past; he did it obsessively anyway as it was, and there would be plenty of time for it after this was all over.

He sighed once and opened his eyes again, by chance locking them with those of one of the chosen Ga-Matoran. She was practically hiding behind Turaga Meiko, he noticed - and she looked completely terrified. He gave a small smile, hoping it would reassure her, but she merely shrank back some more. Her eyes flickered to something beside him - was she looking at Naho? No, that was preposterous; Naho wasn't scary in the least. Then they flickered back to him, and she visibly swallowed, steeling herself.

The Turaga followed his gaze to the blue Matoran half-obscured behind her and stepped to the side, allowing him to see the villager completely. She was slightly smaller than her fellows, and wore what he recognized as a Kaukau, Kanohi Mask of Underwater Breathing. "This is Gali," Meiko said, her cracked seashell voice loud. He got the feeling she probably spent a lot of time with this particular Matoran. "A little skittish, but I believe she's got what it takes. All in all, they're a good bunch. I think they'll surprise you."

Hm. This "Gali" didn't strike him as particularly strong, and he'd be more surprised if she didn't lose out on the prize immediately, but he hid his feelings with a smile. "I'm sure they will."

It was unfair to think of her in such a way, he told himself as he walked behind the group, led by Naho, to take them back to the boat. For all he knew, this skittishness could be an act to make herself seem weak in the eyes of everyone else. Then, when the moment was right, she would strike and show a hidden strength and ferocity.

Or something. It had happened during his own trial, and the Matoran in question had ended up being more hardcore than anyone would have ever given her credit for. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time appearances had deceived him.

Here was where he began to wish for Lesovikk's presence as well. He'd be able to tell which ones they should be watching out for.

Then again, looking at Gali more closely, Lhikan honestly doubted that any of this was an act. She certainly seemed spacey enough, he noticed - since leaving the village, she'd been staring off into the air with a blank look on her face. Still, it looked less like spacing out and more like she was actually watching something. He followed her line of sight with a frown and saw nothing but sand and palm trees, neither of which warranted such a riveted stare.

Just what the hell was she looking at, then? Or was she really just zoned out, as he had been?

Perhaps she felt him watching her, for the next moment saw her turning around and meeting his gaze once more with big golden eyes. Those eyes widened with surprise, and she immediately turned back around, speeding up so she was no longer at the back of the procession with him.

Lhikan let out a small sigh. He hadn't meant to startle her. He'd have to apologize later...or better yet, get Naho to do it. She seemed comfortable enough around Naho, actually daring to open her mouth and ask her a question, which the Toa of Water answered enthusiastically.

"It takes roughly four days to get to where we're going from here," she said, her voice carrying over the water as they walked onto the drawbridge of their boat. "We'll be departing early tomorrow, and the rest of today will be spent getting the rest of the candidates from the other villages."

Lhikan jumped, remembering something suddenly. "Naho," he called, getting her attention. When she turned to face him, he said, "We won't be able to get to Onu-Wahi by boat. It's too far inland."

She frowned, obviously not having thought of this either. Ko-Wahi was located on the other side of the mountain, he knew, and Onu-Wahi was farther to the middle of the island, and underground, to boot. They'd have to walk. He cringed at the thought of going to Ko-Wahi. If there was one thing he hated more than water, it was cold. How anyone managed to live there was beyond his comprehension. He sure couldn't have managed it.

"OK, then..." Naho bit her lip, as she always did when thinking hard. "How about this - we'll split up after we get the next two, then you go to Ko- and Onu-Wahi while I take the ship around from the docks of Ko, and we meet up in Po? I can have Hayaku's Matoran rounded up by the time you arrive, and from there we can anchor and sleep, and be ready to depart at dawn."

He just barely held in a cringe at the thought of going to Ko-Wahi - he'd been hoping she'd allow him to do Onu-Wahi while she did Ko-Wahi, but apparently not. And complaining about it was a very un-manly thing to do, he reminded himself. This was important business, and if he couldn't handle a little cold, then he wasn't cut out for Toa work in the least. How his old friend Terios would be laughing at him if he could see him now, Great Spirits rest his soul.

"That sounds reasonable," he replied. Naho was the quicker traveler, but he had more stamina and the advantage of being able to create heat at will - both of which would come in handy for the harsh, icy terrain of the mountain. They also couldn't leave the ship with all their gathered Matoran unguarded, so him doing one and her doing the other was also out. Mata Nui may have been safer than many of the other islands on the Great Sea by far, but neither of them were willing to take any chances.

He simply hoped he didn't start getting sick; he had a feeling the Ko-Matoran wouldn't appreciate him sneezing fire in their village.

* * *

><p>Ta-Koro was exactly as Lhikan remembered it - loud and blazing hot.<p>

Naho had looked a little sick as she stepped out of the boat and looked at the smoke coming from the volcano, but now, stepping into the village, she looked positively nauseous. All this heat had to be horrible for her; being a Water Toa, she wasn't fond of heat in the same way he wasn't fond of cold. They'd have to make this quick, then.

They had just made it to the Turaga's hut and began conversing with him when a loud shout from the main square distracted the old one's attention. With an exasperated growl, Turaga Masa shoved aside the curtain to his hut and strode out, stomping over to two wrestling shapes in the middle of the square. A third shape cowered a few feet away.

Lhikan frowned as he followed the Turaga, then winced as Masa clouted both troublemakers over the head with his key-shaped staff. But the effect was immediate; they rolled away from each other and howled in pain.

The larger of the two was the first to recover, glaring up at the Turaga with a ferocity not often seen in creatures that small. "That HURT!" he shouted, clutching the sore spot on his head.

Masa glared right on back, not fazed in the least. "How many times have I told you, Tahu? You're already on probation for fighting, and this is _not_ helping your case. So, what happened _this_ time, eh?" He put his hands on his hips and frowned, waiting.

Tahu scowled and crossed his arms, looking away with a dark scowl.

"Um, Turaga?" the previously cowering Matoran ventured nervously. His mask was blue, Lhikan noticed with surprise; an odd color for a Ta-Matoran. In fact, he'd never heard of a Ta-Matoran having a blue mask before. How strange. "He was just, um, getting revenge for me, cuz they were picking on me again...and, uh...you know..." He trailed off when Masa looked at him.

The Turaga sighed in a way that told Lhikan he wasn't surprised in the least. "Hoko, go wait in my hut for me. We'll discuss this later." The smaller of the two troublemakers scowled but got up and did as he was told. "Tahu - Tahu, look at me."

Tahu grudgingly did, glare softened a bit by the obvious anxiety in his eyes, which were a bright shade of pink. Lhikan imagined he must have come in for a bit of teasing himself with those eyes.

"I chose you for these trials because you're strong enough for them," Masa told the Matoran, whose anxiety was quickly replaced with curiosity. "But honestly, if this is how you're going to behave around those who displease you, I don't know if I should let you go. You tell me. What am I going to do with you?"

"Dunno." Tahu glowered at the floor for a moment, then raised his eyes to meet his Turaga's again.

Masa sighed aggravatedly, but surprisingly, let the matter drop in favor of taking a small stone tablet out of his waist pouch. "Find these five for me and bring them back here - and for the love of Mata Nui, don't _provoke_ any of them!" he called irritably at the retreating Matoran's back.

He sighed again and looked up at Naho and Lhikan, the former of which was looking decidedly amused and the latter contemplative. "My apologies that you had to see that, Toa. If I didn't know he was only doing it to protect Takua here," he indicated the blue-masked Matoran, "I'd be a lot harder on him, but as you can see..."

Naho smiled. "No, protectiveness is good. And he's obviously capable of sticking up for himself as well. With a little training, that could be toned down to a reasonable amount."

Lhikan shot her a look. Did she think that that confrontational Matoran was honestly going to pass the test? He looked willful enough for it, he'd give him that, but that temper was going to cost him. If he couldn't handle himself without attacking those around him, then there would be a problem. Lhikan doubted it would allow him to properly work with others, which was an essential part of being a Toa. Not to mention, Toa of Fire were traditionally the leaders of their teams. If he couldn't keep from attacking his teammates, there was no way he could, in good conscience, be allowed to lead.

Masa snorted. "Oh, he's protective alright. _Too_ protective. Anyone so much as _looks_ at Takua wrong, and he's up in their face in an instant. Granted, they do tend to get on Takua's case a little harshly, but Tahu takes it too far. If he hadn't shown me already that he's got some modicum of restraint I wouldn't have recommended him for this event, let me assure you."

That remained to be seen, Lhikan thought. He'd be honestly surprised if this "Tahu" managed to show enough of his so-called "restraint" in order to make the cut. As of right then, he knew he himself would never have chosen him to take the trials, based on what he had just seen.

Although, perhaps he was being unfair. There had been times when he had contemplated hitting his own teammates, back in the day, when they had gotten particularly annoying. _That one_ especially had been a lesson in patience. Not that he'd ever actually done it, of course. There were just some things a leader did not do, and that was to intentionally harm a friend.

They'd have to see, then, if Tahu could make the cut. As it was, he didn't favor the Ta-Matoran's chances.

Masa was staring at him with an intense look in his eye. He swallowed and stared right on back. It had always been like this with Masa, who could be difficult to read at times. He was never quite sure if the Turaga liked him or not, but had long ago concluded that it didn't matter.

"Otherwise, it has been quite a long time, Toa Lhikan," Masa said quietly. He reached up to adjust the red Kaukau he wore - an odd mask for a Fire Turaga, that. Why Masa had chosen the Great Mask of Underwater Breathing was a mystery to most, but Lhikan had heard the rumors - how it had protected him from the worst of the effects of poison gas during a particularly difficult mission, and how the then-Fire Toa had sworn to wear it always as his main mask.

Lhikan nodded. "It has," he replied politely. "How is this island treating you?"

Masa waved a hand. "Better than most, I imagine. It's rather quiet here, much quieter than it was at home. But I like it. It's a nice change from all the madness outside."

Lhikan understood this very well. Mata Nui did have a certain protected feel to it, like staying here meant one was shielded from everything else in the outside world. Honestly, he was kind of regretting being forced to take so many Matoran away from it. They'd been sheltered for so long, so how would they cope with everything outside of their little bubble? Of course, they'd still be safe - he was a Toa, and he'd be damned if he let anything happen to them. Not to mention in a few days they'd be surrounded by some of the Order's best operatives. It was a given that they'd be safe.

"You seem to be holding up well," he replied. Masa chuckled.

"I still have yet to understand why we were assigned here, of all places, after we were decommissioned, but I suppose it could have been worse. I could have been assigned to go home again," he said. "I understand things are not going so well on Metru Nui."

"They have been improving greatly since the last time you had correspondence with them," Lhikan assured him. "Just a few months ago, I helped Vakama and his team to uproot, literally, a thing calling itself the 'Morbuzakh'. It seems it was the cause of the Vahki going insane, by way of planting its tendrils inside of them and controlling them like that."

Masa surprised him by snorting. "Vahki!" he huffed. "Designed by idiots to be used by geniuses! Honestly, those things were more of a hindrance than a help most times; always tailing after me whenever I so much as slammed a door too hard. And no wonder this 'Morbuzakh' was able to control them; they're machines. Non-thinking, non-sentient robots with no will of their own who only do what they're programmed to do. Do you know how easy it is to catch and reprogram one of them to do your bidding?"

Lhikan just barely held back a groan. He could practically _feel_ the surrounding Matoran all attune themselves instantly to their Turaga's words, eager to hear how he had managed to bend one of the infamous Vahki to his will. "Masa," he sighed as Tahu stomped back into view with four other Matoran behind him, "I'm sure you and Jiyo had a good reason at the time, but the Vahki are there for a good reason as well, and reprogramming one like that could have-"

"'Those with weak hearts can be easily turned to darkness'," Masa quoted, interrupting him. "And something with so weak a heart has no business protecting the Matoran."

Which was true enough, Lhikan supposed - if only the same could not be applied to so many Toa as well. Still, what the Morbuzakh had done to the Vahki was an isolated incident, as was what Masa and his teammate Jiyo had done to one of the Keerakh. Masa might argue that it had been necessary for what they were doing, but Lhikan would never approve. Metru Nui was a very large island, with more than its fair share of troublemakers. And while there were indeed those few prodigies like Masa and Jiyo who could figure out how to exploit the Vahki for their own ends, for the most part they were very efficient. Though, he did disapprove of some of their staff powers, Suggestion and Presence in particular.

"Wait, what?" Tahu's voice interrupted. The Matoran was staring at Masa with something akin to _respect_ in his eyes, Lhikan was dismayed to see. "You hot-wired a _Vahki_, Turaga?"

Masa grinned, blatantly enjoying the usually troublesome Matoran's awe. "I did. Or rather, I came up with the idea and handled the capture, and Turaga Jiyo did the actual reprogramming. That was one of our more interesting misadventures, let me tell you."

"Though, it shouldn't be replicated," Lhikan said sharply, watching with a mix of satisfaction and more dismay as Tahu flinched away from him. And then both melted away into annoyance as the Ta-Matoran sent him a look that clearly said, _"Thank you for ruining my fun."_

_You're welcome,_ Lhikan thought.

He had a feeling that the real reason Masa tolerated Tahu was because they were actually quite similar - overprotective troublemakers who saw no harm in bending the rules a little (or a lot) if it was for the greater good. Lhikan could very well attest to the fact that breaking the rules had saved his life more than once, but he did it in moderation and only when there were no other options. Masa and Jiyo's thing with the Keerakh and its Confusion power had indeed _not_ been their only option, though both would argue that it was the quickest and most efficient one. Left out was the immense property destruction that had taken place in Ko-Metru as a result of their actions, as well as how many Matoran had been injured during the conflict.

Beside him and watching his stare-down with Tahu, Naho very blatantly covered a laugh with a cough.

The next fifteen minutes were spent with Masa sternly lecturing the five Ta-Matoran who had been chosen about minding themselves and supporting each other, as well as staving off questions about the Keerakh incident, and Lhikan contemplating whether or not it was appropriate to let Naho handle the rest of this endeavor by herself and just go back to the ship to wait for her.

The answer to that, he eventually concluded with a long-suffering sigh, was "no". There were still four other villages to hit, and the suns were nearing the noontime position.

Finally, it was time to leave, and with great relief, Lhikan helped Naho shepherd the five Ta-Matoran into their cabin on the ship. Naho went to check on the Ga-Matoran, and then joined Lhikan at the wheel, taking it and navigating the ship out of the bay and towards the waterways that would lead them to Le-Koro.

* * *

><p>As soon as he woke up that day, Lewa knew, somehow, instinctively, that something big was going to happen.<p>

Turaga Coren had been even more excitable than usual the past week, and it had been especially obvious the previous night. Already naturally high-strung and prone to fidgeting when forced to sit still for longer than two minutes, the Turaga had been downright twitchy during the usual weekly story-telling meeting, even trailing off in mid-sentence and forgetting the next part of the tale a few times, which had never happened before. Though somewhat worried about his Turaga's mental state and about what could possibly get the irrepressible Coren to behave like that, Lewa didn't lose any sleep over it. It would be explained in due time, and besides, he wasn't one to worry.

He went about his morning like normal, feeding and grooming his Kahu as he had done every morning before and probably would for the rest of his life. The bird was a hyperactive one, and as usual, it took about an hour longer than it should have to get her presentable for that day's patrol because she was always so excitable.

After prying himself from underneath the great bird's rear end after she decided to sit on him, it took another half hour to wrestle her into her saddle and slip the harness over her head, and yet another ten minutes to get her calm enough for him to climb onto her back. And once that was done, he gave a quick tap to her sides with his feet.

And off she went, in the way that they should have done an hour and a half ago.

The first order of business was to allow her to work off some of that nervous energy she had pent up, and once she was done doing loops and spins that would have made most intelligent creatures fear for their lives, Lewa was finally able to guide her through their usual motions.

Flying was one of the most amazing things he had ever experienced, even if it was on the back of a bird and not by himself (which would never happen, he was forced to admit, much to his own disappointment). Like most Le-Matoran, Lewa was ever-so-slightly clumsy on the ground, and fared best when climbing trees or soaring above them on his Kahu, though he supposed Tamaru was the exception to the rule.

Imagine, a Le-Matoran who was afraid of heights! Not that Tamaru truly admitted it, but it was still fairly obvious. Though, he supposed every tribe had to have its oddballs in some form or another.

They spent the rest of the morning riding thermals and watching for any suspicious activity. Nothing. As usual. The suns were high, and the jungle was quiet (or as quiet as a jungle could be), with nothing resembling suspicious activity whatsoever. He made sure to steer his bird away from a rather grumpy-looking ash bear that had climbed into a tree, but other than that, the morning was completely boring.

Life on this island had a tendency to be somewhat boring, Lewa was forced to admit. It was a beautiful place and peaceful enough in comparison with the rest of the world, but he found it too quiet for his liking. He thrived off the stories Turaga Coren told of his glory days as a Toa, and not-so-secretly wished for adventures of that magnitude for himself.

But the process of becoming a Toa was a secret one, and no amount of pestering or begging could get Coren to allow him to leave the island. If he wasn't so sure Coren would personally lead a cavalry to bring him back, he might have already taken his bird and gone off on his own, but as it was, Lewa also had something resembling a sense of duty and refused to abandon his village.

Adventure could wait, at least for now. He'd figure out how to go about getting to it later.

It wasn't until the suns had slightly passed the noontime position that he noticed something odd. A rather large boat was making its way up one of the many waterways that led from the ocean into Le-Wahi (or rather, the other way around). It must have a paddling system to be able to go against the flow of the water, he deduced - and a good one, for it was going very fast, all things considered.

Lewa took a split second to consider if this was the thing that had gotten Turaga Coren so riled up lately, and then he was turning his bird into a dive to go sound the alarm.

* * *

><p>Le-Wahi was humid, almost oppressively so. Even Lhikan, who enjoyed the heat in much the same way a lizard would, was having trouble dealing with it. He supposed it came with entering what was effectively a very large swamp, but that didn't mean he was happy with it. Every breath felt almost like he was trying to breathe in more water than air.<p>

Curse humidity with every fiber of his being! Heat, he could deal with. This awful combination of heat and aerial water? Not so much. Already he was beginning to long for the volcano of Ta-Wahi again.

It seemed to be even worse for Naho, though, he thought, glancing over at her as he steered the ship to the dock. She was panting hard and clutching the wall of the ship's control room for support, but still managed to grin at him when she noticed him looking.

"Are you alright?" he asked. He wished there was something he could do for her. Water Toa as a rule were not fond of the heat, and while humidity was due to excess water in the air, it seemed she was still having trouble with it as well.

"I'm fine," she said, and forced herself to straighten up with obvious effort. She grimaced. "Wish I had a Kaukau instead of a Rima(1)," she added. "Maybe then I wouldn't have such a hard time breathing. Never thought I'd be done in by a little water in the air, though."

"Think of it this way," he replied as he began to make his way out to the dock, with her following close behind him once again, "if we get attacked, you have plenty of ammo."

He stopped as he felt something sharp poke into his lower back, and then it was gone. Whirling around, he barely had time to see her re-strapping her halberd(2) to her back, and glared.

Naho winked at him. "I don't need my element to come out on top," she said, and moved past him.

"You certainly have a lot of confidence," he frowned.

"Of course I do, someone here has to have a little," she replied with a laugh. "Oh, Lhikan, lighten up. It's just a joke. We'll be fine, alright?"

"I'll hold you to it," he murmured, and allowed her to lead the way into the village of Le-Koro.

* * *

><p>Hopping down from the tree where he'd left his Kahu just as the ship docked, Lewa sprinted towards Turaga Coren's hut with all the speed he possessed. He arrived out of breath, practically falling through the doorway as the surprised Turaga nearly jumped out of his seat from his sudden appearance.<p>

"Turaga Coren!" he panted, hanging onto the doorway for support. "A...a boat! A boat's comin' quick-fast from the ocean! Already arrived, actually," he hastily corrected himself.

To his surprise, Coren looked more excited than alarmed, and jumped up from his seat with more energy than ought to have been possible for a village elder. "Oho!" the green Turaga said, grabbing his staff and practically dragging Lewa from the hut. "So they've come at last! I was beginning to fear-worry!"

Lewa nearly fell from being hauled along backwards but managed to right himself at the last minute, pacing himself so as not to lose the Turaga. The rest of the village was now aware of the arrivals, he saw, crowding around the railing of the platforms that kept their village in the trees and above the dangerous jungle floor. They reminded him of birds - curious birds all gathering together and squawking.

"Who is it that's come?" he called to Coren as the Turaga began to descend the stairs that led from the main platform to the dock, though Coren was too wrapped up in his own excitement to pay any attention. Two large shapes, one red-orange and the other a deep blue, were beginning to ascend, walking with purpose. His eyes widened as they came into focus - those were Toa!

Toa hadn't been to this part of Mata Nui in many a year - in fact, he couldn't remember ever actually seeing any since he had first arrived decades and decades ago, though apparently Ta-Koro was the village that was most often visited by traveling Toa. Something about Fire Toa being traditional leaders, and those visiting Toa wanting to speak to Masa most out of his old team because of this. Or something, he wasn't very concerned with the social norms of Toa. If it didn't affect him directly, he could rarely be bothered to care for it.

It was a Toa of Water and a Toa of Fire that had come calling, he saw as they got nearer. The Toa of Water was quite beautiful, with a kind smile and bright blue eyes that matched the coloring of her torso, feet, and hands perfectly. A large halberd was strapped to her back, and she wore a Great Mask of Psychometry on her face. A rare mask, or so it was said. Of the masks currently in circulation, only the Tarena of Clairvoyance was rarer, and then because it was so difficult to master. To date, supposedly only one Toa had ever managed to fully master the Tarena.

The Fire Toa was a large one, much taller than his companion, but with almost none of the spunk she seemed to thrive on. In fact, if Lewa had to call him anything, "melancholy" would be the word he'd use. Or perhaps "uncomfortable" was a better one. Though that was to be expected; few outside of the Le-tribe truly felt comfortable being this high up off the ground.

Groundpounders. Seriously.

"Turaga Coren!" the Water Toa exclaimed, taking the hand the green Turaga offered her and shaking it enthusiastically, "It's been a Hapaka's age since I last saw you!"

"That was sometime around when I was reassigned to this place," Coren agreed, reaching around her to shake the hand of the melancholy Fire Toa, who looked at him for only the briefest of moments before turning his yellow gaze to the crowd of Le-Matoran staring at him.

Lewa thought he saw him hiding a grimace, and frowned. What was this guy's problem? Were they really that unpleasant to look at? Or maybe he just didn't like being stared at? Though that was an odd thought; a Toa who wasn't used to attention from Matoran. Unless this guy was a new Toa, which he seriously doubted, that was something of an oddity.

The Water Toa seemed to have no problem with the staring, he noted, looking back at her. She led the way back to the main platform, chatting amiably with Coren like they were old friends while her companion trailed behind her, still staring at the assembled Matoran with that not-quite-happy expression.

Honestly, what was his problem?

"Now!" Coren's voice startled him, and he turned to look at his Turaga. Finally, they'd find out just why these Toa were here, and why Coren had looked so excited recently! Lewa had to admit that the anticipation was beginning to get to him, gnawing on his insides like some kind of animal. If he didn't find out what was going on in the next two seconds, he rather thought he'd go insane.

"For all those of you who are wondering, these two are Toa Naho Mahi and Toa Lhikan Mangai, and they are here for something very special," Coren said, and then took a step forward. "The five names I'm about to call-speak will accompany these two for a...a special event!"

Lewa blinked. Well, that wasn't specific at all. Usually Coren went into insane amounts of detail about whatever he was speaking about; for him not to either meant he simply didn't want to spoil the surprise, or it was a secret for a reason. With Coren, either was possible, but the presence to the two Toa and the fact that only five would be chosen made him believe it was probably the latter of the two choices.

"Tamaru! Kongu! Orkahm! Taiki! And Lewa! All five of you get down here!"

His name had been called!

_His_ name had been called!

_HIS!_

Then again, Lewa supposed this wasn't such a surprise - he did have an unusually strong sense for air currents, and was easily one of the most agile and skilled members of the village. But still. Out of everyone, he was one of the lucky five!

...but, ugh, so was Orkahm. A relatively new arrival, Orkahm was still very much used to the more populated Metru Nui, and often complained about being stuck in the "boondocks", as he called it. He was also perhaps the most overly cautious being Lewa had ever met, which automatically rubbed him the wrong way. He'd never heard of an overly cautious Le-Matoran before, but apparently Orkahm was sent to inform him of just such a rarity.

Then again, Tamaru was also chosen, and this was despite his crippling fear of heights - another oddity in a Le-Matoran.

He was beginning to wonder about Coren's logic in the five choices.

Kongu and Taiki, on the other hand, were natural choices. Both were skilled bird-handlers and tree climbers, Kongu even being the Captain of the Gukko Defense Force that Lewa himself was a part of. If anyone was going to be chosen for this event, those two were practically destined for it.

But there was still the matter of what this event was all about...

* * *

><p>It wasn't that Lhikan was disappointed. That wasn't the case at all, or, at least, that was what he told himself.<p>

The only one of the five that looked like he knew his mask from his backside was the one with the mint-green Miru, Kongu, he thought his name was. The other four were...well, not so capable-looking. And...if he wasn't mistaken, that was Orkahm standing on Kongu's left. He'd heard quite a bit about Orkahm from Matau Metru the last time he'd been on Metru Nui, most of it painting a picture of an overly cautious stick-in-the-mud with almost no athletic ability.

Then again, perhaps some caution would do these five some good. Le-Matoran were known for their penchant for thrill-seeking; maybe having someone who went against the norm like that would be a benefit in the long run.

He had to laugh to himself then, as he remembered a certain old teammate of his own who had been almost exactly as Matau had described Orkahm - at least at first. Everyone had been shocked when the scrawny astronomer calling himself Terios had managed to pass their test, but pass he had. And though he hadn't been all that great a warrior, he had still easily been one of the most frighteningly intelligent beings Lhikan had ever met.

Maybe Orkahm would become to his potential future team what Terios had been to the Toa Mangai. The thought was rather cheering, and Lhikan found himself relaxing a bit.

He remained relaxed throughout the long goodbyes the five chosen Matoran received from their tribemates, and the even longer goodbye between Naho and Coren, and even through re-boarding the boat and steering it through the waterways that led back out to the ocean. It wasn't until Naho was informing him that he had to get off right here and now if he wanted to have a prayer of reaching Ko-Koro any time soon that he felt his relaxed mood giving way to his usual one.

Spirits above, he was _not_ looking forward to going to Ko-Koro, but he sucked it up, bade Naho farewell, and started up the base of the mountain at the path that led from the natural dock formed by a particularly stubborn ice floe.

Luckily for him, Ko-Koro was not quite so far up the mountain as to truly be a hindrance - it was located fairly near to the shore, close enough to travel to on foot if he hurried. He was on a strict schedule to catch up to Naho in Po-Koro with the ten chosen Ko-Matoran and Onu-Matoran, and he didn't intend to be any later than absolutely necessary.

It had been cold at the natural ice dock, which had been carved into something resembling an actual wooden dock like the ones in Ga-, Ta-, and Le-Koro by someone with a large amount of time on their hands, but it got positively freezing the farther up he went. Luckily, there didn't seem to be a blizzard scheduled for that day, otherwise he might have been in trouble.

He sighed when the path came to an end, making way for a cavern sealed off by a large ice door, resisting the urge to simply melt it and be on his way. But that would be both rude and unnecessary, and so instead he knelt to solve the puzzle set into it.

Damn Jiyo and his eccentricities! Was this kind of thing really needed? There weren't any Rahi native to this part of the land that were dangerous enough to pose a threat to the Ko-Matoran should they happen to wander in, but apparently Jiyo was taking no chances. Or perhaps he just liked to annoy people. Either one was plausible.

Jiyo the eccentric genius of Ko-Metru, Lhikan thought bitterly as he hurried to complete the puzzle. He was the one who had helped Masa to hot-wire a Keerakh back when they were still Toa, and he was regarded as odd even for a stargazer. Lhikan was not looking forward to meeting with him.

Finally, he clicked the last piece of the puzzle into place to form a picture of a Ruru Mask of Night-Vision, which was the mask Jiyo wore, and the ice wall blocking his way slowly slid to the right, vanishing into the wall. Another one of Jiyo's crazy projects, it would seem...

There was no one in sight when Lhikan stepped into the main square of Ko-Koro, but he had expected this. Ko-Matoran were notoriously anti-social, and even on Metru Nui had a habit of suddenly vanishing whenever anyone from outside arrived. If he didn't know better from much experience, he might have said that they were simply shy. Fortunately, he did.

"Well! Toa Lhikan, at last! Good to see you!"

Stifling both a yelp and another urge to send out a defensive heat blast, Lhikan managed to turn around with as much stately dignity as he could muster after being startled so badly to meet the pale moonstone gaze of an all-white Turaga - Jiyo, formerly of Metru Nui, and more often than not mentioned in the same breath as "utterly barking mad".

The only spot of color on Jiyo was the bright blue jewel set into the crystal flower at the top of his staff, which also had crystal vines and thorns trailing down its length in intricate patterns, and it was this jewel that truly allowed Lhikan to pinpoint just where the eccentric Turaga was in order to give him a reproving look.

Jiyo merely grinned at him. "I apologize for startling you, Toa, but you really should have seen the look on your face! Anyway," he continued, stepping forward and handing Lhikan a rolled-up scroll that, when opened, showed five names in barely legible handwriting, "here are the names of my recommended. I think you'll find them quite capable, oh yes."

Lhikan thanked him, then set out to find the first one. To his displeasure, Jiyo insisted on leading the way. It wasn't that he truly disliked Jiyo, who was friendly enough. No, rather, it was that nearly everything about the pale Turaga was just so disconcerting, from his near-complete lack of coloring to the peppy, upbeat attitude that had showed up in no other being of Ko-descent Lhikan had ever met. Really, he was better suited to being a Po- or Le-descendant than one of Ko.

As expected, the five choices were a quiet bunch, though all five (with one exception, who stood slightly apart from the others with his arms crossed and looking determinedly to the side with an annoyed expression on his face) seemed rather mellow in comparison to the Ko-Matoran on Metru Nui. Maybe being on Mata Nui had made them more complacent?

Except for _that_ one, really; _that_ one looked just downright surly. Probably wondering what this was all about. Lhikan couldn't truly say he blamed him for looking so annoyed.

Jiyo followed his gaze and laughed understandingly. That was another thing about Jiyo that was disconcerting; he was a little too good at picking up on other people's thoughts. "They're all a good sort," he said, moving to the surly one's side and clapping him heartily on the shoulder. "Even this one here, isn't that right, Kopaka?"

The Matoran called Kopaka didn't even dignify this with a glance.

Jiyo laughed again, turning back to Lhikan, who was fairly appalled at this blatant lack of respect to the village elder. "Like I said, they're all a good sort. A little too quiet, maybe, but apparently _I_ am the oddity amongst us. Then again, if I didn't talk so much, I doubt anything would ever be said at all! Someone has to keep a little noise going, don't you think?"

"Um, sure," Lhikan agreed without being sure of exactly what he was agreeing to. He was almost completely focused on the rude Ko-Matoran, who had turned a very cold blue gaze on him badtemperedly.

If anything, this one - apparently called Kopaka - reminded him a bit of Tahu. Neither of them had been afraid of him in the least, and both were perfectly willing to glare at him when he annoyed them. That took guts, he had to admit - most Matoran had a hard time meeting a Toa's eyes without immediately looking elsewhere and kowtowing (which had always made him uncomfortable - he wasn't anywhere near worthy of such behavior).

It was rather refreshing to meet a being who didn't fear him and yet wasn't trying to kill him.

He cut Jiyo off in the middle of a monologue about noise being a sign of a healthy village in order to ask for the quickest way to Onu-Koro, and without missing a beat, Jiyo quickly pointed to something that resembled the upper half of a large metal egg sticking out of the ground. Upon nearing it, it opened like a flower, startling Lhikan once again, though not nearly as bad as Jiyo himself had.

"You'll need to walk a fair bit to get to Onu-Koro," Jiyo informed him, "but it's really not _that_ far. If you're lucky, you may even come across a cart, or an Ussal crab or two. I've found that they can very easily be persuaded to carry me where I need to go if I ask politely."

Lhikan nodded, though he himself had never been partial to Ussal crabs and had never ridden one before - nor did he ever intend to, to be honest. And somehow it didn't surprise him that Jiyo talked to them, either. Very little about Jiyo did anymore.

He entered the silo with the five quiet Ko-Matoran trailing behind him like baby Gukkos after their mother, an awkward comparison he never wanted to be applied to himself ever again, if he could help it. To his relief, none of them attempted to speak to him during the entire trip through the underground, except to inform him when he was about to take a wrong turn or to ask the odd question or two.

He wasn't entirely surprised when he noticed Kopaka trailing at the back of the line, arms once more folded against his chest and a surly expression in place. The Matoran obviously didn't want to be there, and Lhikan couldn't say he blamed him. He didn't want to be there, either.

The Turaga of Onu-Koro was named...Otona, if he remembered correctly. Being that Onu-Koro was underground and so far out of the way, he'd only ever met the former Toa of Earth just the one time, and that being a very long time ago - back before the cynicism had taken over, and he had been what could only be described as carefree. He wondered if Otona would recognize him.

In truth, he was surprised Meiko, Coren, and Jiyo had recognized him. The only one of the Turaga on this island he dealt with on a somewhat regular basis was Masa, who he might have regarded as a sort-of friend if only he could ever get a grip for what the Fire Turaga actually thought of him. He wouldn't be surprised to find that Masa immensely disliked him, but Masa thus far had never shown him any hostility.

Lhikan would have preferred it if he had, to be honest. There were certain things that should not ever be forgiven, and he wasn't sure he could have done so if he were in Masa's place.

* * *

><p>He had never been to Onu-Koro before, and for a moment merely stood in the mouth of the cave that led to it, staring. He was fairly sure his mouth might be hanging open, but he couldn't help himself.<p>

The underground caverns of Onu-Metru were far larger, and far more advanced in technology, but nonetheless, Lhikan could not help but be impressed by what Otona and his Matoran had done with this place. A giant hole, reminding him almost of an ant's hill, with the Matoran's homes and businesses carved into the far left and right walls, respectively, with a the large middle area being mostly bare - leg room, and also a place to corral the Ussal crabs, it would appear. The lighting was muted, coming from low-power lightstones situated in convenient locations, as Onu-Matoran were rather light-sensitive and had a much easier time moving around in darker areas.

Their hearing was also extra sensitive as a result, and Lhikan was suddenly very grateful that the group he currently had with him was a silent pack of Ko-Matoran instead of the more lively groups from Ta- or Le-Koro. As he recalled, Otona wasn't a very bad-tempered sort, but it certainly wouldn't help his case if his group had barged in and started hurting everyone's ears within hearing range.

A Matoran with an orange Matatu jogged up to him and bowed low, then straightened up. "Greetings, Toa of Fire," he said politely. "My name is Azibo. Turaga Otona has instructed me to welcome you and to inform you that his preparations are complete. If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will take you and the rest of our...guests to see him."

Lhikan didn't miss Azibo's hesitance at seeing the Ko-Matoran. There didn't seem to be any hostility in the Onu-Matoran's voice, but he rather doubted that the two tribes interacted very often, if at all. He knew from listening to Jiyo that the Ice Turaga visited Otona on occasion and vice versa, but apparently their respective tribes saw no such need. It seemed an insignificant detail, but as usual, he filed it away later for reference.

As Azibo had stated, Otona was indeed waiting for him in the Turaga's hut, surrounded by a group of five Onu-Matoran. The Earth Turaga greeted him politely but warmly, and Lhikan was pleased to see that he did recognize him, though Otona made a point of commenting on how melancholy he seemed nowadays.

"I remember when you laughed more often," Otona said, somewhat wistfully. "Better times, eh?"

"Better times," Lhikan agreed, and was relieved when the Earth Turaga let the subject go.

"In order, these are Akamu, Onepu, Kaj, Onua, and Taipu," Otona tapped each one on the shoulder as he spoke. "A good, trustworthy sort, each one. They'll serve you well."

_They had better serve themselves even better,_ Lhikan thought, but out loud he voiced his pleasure with this assessment. He was beginning to feel a little anxious by now, having been underground for over an hour, and could feel a slight case of claustrophobia coming over him. He couldn't tell what time it was, and though he knew Naho would wait for him as long as need be, was starting to worry that he was taking too long.

Luckily, Otona was more than willing to let the group be on its way, and led them to an opening on the opposite end of the main cavern from the one they'd arrived in. He gestured to a set of mining carts set in tracks in the dirt, leading into a rather large cave that was lit with more muted lightstones and a strange, glowing blue fungus.

"That'll take you to Po-Koro right quick," he said, pride evident in his voice. "I designed it myself, and it's just as good as anything you'll find on Metru Nui. Certainly better than those ghastly chutes! But yes, taking these, it's about a forty-five minute ride to Po-Koro from here. The only real danger presented during the trip should be the Kofo-Jagas, but I doubt those little buggers will give you any trouble, not when you're in such a big group. And even if they do, they're ridiculously terrified of fire."

Not such a stupid weakness to have, Lhikan thought. Fire was worth being frightened of.

He waited patiently as Otona called another Onu-Matoran over to operate the lead cart for them, and then jumped into the said cart with the operator, whose name was Zemya. Zemya began to pump the heavy lever, refusing Lhikan's offer to do it for him, and off they went.

The trip to Po-Koro was a quiet one, barring the rather startling way they barreled through the mines with the wind from their speed whipping about them. Looking back at his charges, Lhikan could see that while the Onu-Matoran all looked completely at ease and, in one case, borderline bored, the Ko-Matoran were beginning to look a little green. He had to stop a small smile from blooming over his face as he noticed the surly Kopaka's iron-knuckled grip on the side of his cart.

The closest thing they would have had that compared to this was sledding, he surmised, and he doubted any sled could match the speed of this piece of engineering. Otona had really outdone himself with this thing.

Come to think of it, all of Masa's team seemed to be made up of prodigies in some way or another. Masa the combat strategist, Coren the tracker, Meiko the hunter, Otona the engineer, Jiyo the eccentric genius, and Hayaku the master craftsman. His own team had been much less specialized, he had to admit, having been comprised of several conflicting personalities that had somehow figured out how to get along despite their glaring differences of opinion. He still sometimes wondered how they'd managed it.

The Turaga they were going to meet now was the last one, name of Hayaku. Hopefully the years hadn't changed him too much; Lhikan had liked him a lot. He was quirky without being disconcerting as Jiyo was, and forward without the uncomfortable strong-mindedness that Meiko possessed. All in all, Hayaku was probably Lhikan's favorite of the group.

There was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to meet the very green gaze of one of the Onu-Matoran. Onua, he thought this one was called. He was one of the ones who was looking somewhat bored with their impromptu minecart trip. "Yes?" he called over the wind when the Matoran said nothing.

"You might want to hang on," Onua informed him, raising his voice so he could be heard. Lhikan saw the Ko-Matoran catch his words as well; doubtless that was his intention. "These things tend to come to a rather quick stop. You might get thrown overboard if you're not careful."

This advice came just in time, for not even a minute later, there was a very large jolt as Zemya ground hard on the brakes of the lead cart. Lhikan just barely managed to keep from being tossed out of the cart himself; he could hear cries as his charges met with similar predicaments. This was all very undignified, he thought dismally as he hauled himself somewhat dizzily to his feet. If Terios could see him now!

"Sorry about that," Zemya apologized as the train of carts bumped to a complete stop at the buffer at the end of the tracks; there were several more cries as Matoran who had just picked themselves up were knocked over again. "I thought Turaga Otona might have already warned you about that."

Lhikan smiled reassuringly at the nervous Matoran. "It's fine. Nothing was hurt, except maybe my ego, and that's easily fixed."

Zemya managed a small smile back. "That staircase over there," he pointed to it, "comes out literally right outside of Po-Koro. There's a stone quarry you'll have to go through first. Just make sure you don't touch any of the statues and you should be OK."

"Are they rigged or something?" one of the Ko-Matoran asked. Lhikan was surprised to recognize him as the surly Kopaka.

Zemya grinned a little bit. "No, but if Hafu sees you 'defiling' his precious works of art, he'll chase you around with a hammer." He rapped himself on the head. "He got me good the first time I was there. I was out for about three hours after that."

Lhikan felt his headache beginning to return with a vengeance, but he helped the rest of the Matoran down from the train of carts and waited until Zemya had finished prepping the back cart, which he now saw was a replica of the lead one, to go back home. Once the carts were out of sight, the Toa Mangai of Fire sighed and gestured for his group to follow him up the nearby slight of stone stairs.

Blessed sunlight!

Never before had he had such an urge to praise the suns and the light they gave off. OK, actually, that was a lie, but he was in the mood to be slightly dramatic and was way too relieved at being back outside to care. He also saw that he was more or less on time to meet Naho, another relief. A smile slowly stretched across his face, and for once he didn't bother trying to hide it.

The day was almost over. That alone was cause for celebration, in his book.

Onua helpfully pointed out the rock quarry to the left of them, and he saw that it was less a quarry than it was a pathway with several intricately carved statues lining it. Lhikan stared at them, awed. These really were works of art, worthy of the most expensive shops in Po-Metru. Hell, it outranked most of the stuff in those same shops! What was a carver capable of doing all of _this_ doing in an out-of-the-way village like Po-Koro?

Each one was of a different Rahi, he saw as he led his group down the path towards the village gates. Most were of species native to Po-Wahi's desert, but there were a few, such as the Muaka and Kane-Ra statues he had just passed, that were of creatures from the other regions.

He had never been a big art appreciator, but even he could tell when something was worthy of praise. And he'd never seen detail like this on a statue before. Some of these looked almost _alive_; it was a bit creepy.

He also resisted the urge to touch them to see if they felt as alive as they looked. Zemya's warning about the artist's aggressiveness towards anyone who dared defile his art rang clear in his mind, and he had no intention of finishing the day off with a hammer lodged in his forehead.

After a brief questioning and a less brief moment of kowtowing (during which he tried unsuccessfully to get the two guards to look him in the eye), the group was finally allowed into the village. Compared to the others, he would almost call it bustling. Bursting with activity all around, Po-Koro was a very lively, noisy place. Lhikan saw at least one of the Onu-Matoran wince at all the noise.

As he had expected, Naho was almost finished with the business of getting Hayaku to round up the five he'd chosen for the upcoming event, and now appeared to be passing the time by chatting with the Stone Turaga. She noticed him out of the corner of her eye and happily bounded over, grabbing his arm and dragging him back to Hayaku with the group of Ko- and Onu-Matoran struggling to keep up.

"Hello, Toa Lhikan," Hayaku said, his voice deep with suppressed laughter. A pair of orange eyes set deep into a brown Noble Matatu glittered mischievously. That was right, Lhikan remembered, Hayaku had been as much of a troublemaker as Masa and Jiyo could be on occasion. He wondered if Hayaku had also had a hand in the thing with the Keerakh, and decided it wouldn't have surprised him.

"It's been a long time," Lhikan agreed.

"Too long," Hayaku returned. "You only ever visit Masa anymore. One might wonder if you liked him more than the rest of us." The way his eyes curved up with laughter belied his words.

"No, simply stuck with official business," Lhikan replied. "I've not had much time for anything but work."

"I can see that," Hayaku suddenly frowned at him. "You look like death warmed over, and I mean that in the nicest way possible. What in the name of Karzahni has that old shroud been doing to you?"

Both Lhikan and Naho winced - difficult to deal with though she was, it was disconcerting to hear someone speaking about Helryx in such a way.

"Nothing we wouldn't do anyway," Naho answered for him. She smiled. "Lately it's all been about _this_, though. That's the main reason why he looks so tired."

He hated it when she made excuses for him. Not that he held it against her, but the fact that it was bad enough that she felt the need to made him feel guilty. He knew she was worried about him as well, and always had been, but he could never seem to bring himself to alleviate those worries.

The Stone Turaga didn't seem overly convinced, but apparently decided it wasn't worth pressing the issue. Instead, he turned his gaze over to the five Matoran gathered a little ways to the right. "These are the ones I've picked out. As I'm sure you've guessed I'm about to say, they're all good stock, and skilled to go with it. I've personally instructed all five in various areas, and they're as good as you'll get in any region, not just this one." The pride in his voice was unmistakable.

Lhikan let his eyes trail over the five Matoran, feeling slightly better about the situation than when he'd first started. Perhaps it was just that he was slightly biased towards Hayaku when it came to the six Turaga inhabiting this island, but all five looked very self-assured and confident in themselves, though the one at the end looked a bit spacy. His Kakama wasn't focused on Lhikan or Naho, or even Hayaku, but rather on the courtyard some kios away where a game was taking place.

A kolhii player? Well, it was a very popular sport, Lhikan had to acknowledge, though it seemed that on this island it was played only with one's feet. On Metru Nui, it was played with sticks, and while using feet was acceptable, hitting the ball with one's hands was grounds for a penalty shot.

He hadn't thought he'd voiced his thoughts aloud, but apparently he had, because Hayaku said, "We _do_ use sticks here, but...one day one of them got the idea to just use their feet, and it seems the notion's stuck with them ever since." He grinned, watching the game. "I like it, actually. If I could join in without hurting myself, I would."

Well, that, and the fact that he'd had never been that great a kolhii player to begin with, Lhikan remembered.

"Pohatu here is our best kolhii player, in both styles," the Stone Turaga said, clapping the named Matoran on the shoulder. "He could probably even show a Toa a thing or two about moving on the field."

The Matoran named Pohatu grinned as well, though he also had the grace to look slightly embarrassed by the praise. "Though," Hayaku said, giving him a mock-severe look, "if he ever did anything else, like, say, his chores, perhaps he wouldn't be quite as good."

"I do my chores!" Pohatu protested, then looked sheepish. "...sometimes..."

Hayaku rolled his eyes and went to stand in front of Naho again. "Yes, _sometimes_. Anyway," he said, looking the Water Toa in the eye, "I believe we are finished here. I implore you to take good care of my boys, and I implore _them_ to stay out of trouble. You're representing our whole village here, guys. Make me proud."

And just like that, it was over. Time to head back to the ship, which Naho informed Lhikan was anchored in one of the deeper waterways right outside the village. He barely heard her, however, being too relieved to finally be done with this nonsense as he was.

He helped her get the group of fifteen chosen Matoran rounded up in three rows of five, and then strode to the back of the procession, feeling somewhat odd and out-of-place as the rear guard. Usually it was Naho who took that position while he led, but he had to concede that she knew where their vessel was located and he did not. So it was more than acceptable for her to lead.

The entire way back was quiet, for which he was grateful. The suns were on their way down, and as they all climbed back onto the ship, he turned to watch the second one go below the horizon.

The sky and the water had turned bright red from the setting sun. It looked rather ominous, which made Lhikan frown. He was not a big believer in signs or omens, and even less inclined to believe that the color red was in any way bad, but something about this scene rattled him inside.

Deciding it could wait until he wasn't feeling so tired or drained, he accepted Naho's offer for her to take the first watch and was asleep in his cabin within minutes.

His dreams were dark, but then again, they always were.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Some stuff first...<strong>

**(1): Naho's mask has never been revealed in canon. As for her Kanohi being called a "Rima", that's the name I've given to her Great Mask of Psychometry, which you may remember as also being what Helryx wears. A surprising amount of Kanohi go unnamed in this series. It's kind of odd, but anyway, I've taken it upon myself to give some of them names for this story. Similarly, I've taken to referring to the Mask of Clairvoyance as the "Tarena".**

**(2): I've decided Naho's weapon is a halberd. Why? Not sure. It just seemed to fit her.**

**Good God, this took quite a while. I kept having to go back and check everything to make sure it matched up, and that's not even mentioning how much ended up getting changed from the original drafts of each section. And I tried to keep it somewhat concise, but we see how that turned out. Pfffft. Maybe I really should have split it in half? Oh well.**

**Each Matoran mentioned in this chapter is a canon character; thank you, BioSector01. The only fancharacters are the six Turaga (and Terios, Lhikan's mentioned old teammate), who also appear in an old fic of mine called _Chasing the Sun_. I didn't feel like coming up with six completely new characters just for this, so they are being re-used. They are more or less the same, but with some obvious differences from their first appearance in CTS.**

**And yes, I am aware that apparently the island of Mata Nui was created as a result of the Great Spirit's illusion-maker-whatever-thing going all wonky. However, something inside of me aches at the thought of the island where all this started being a mistake of geography, and the thought of such a diverse set of ecosystems coming together so seamlessly in only a thousand years is...a little, uh, difficult for me to get behind. So here I've left it kind of vague. Perhaps later I can integrate it in, but most likely I won't. If enough people want it, though, I will.  
><strong>

**Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this so far despite the horribly long hiatus. You all make my day!**


	4. Anima mala

**Update no Jutsu!**

**My apologies for the wait. I know I said I'd update by Friday, but I got sidetracked by way of being kidnapped by some friends that night to see _Jurassic Park_ in 3D (during which time I regressed to my three-year-old self and went "SQUEE!" for like the whole movie), and then was miserably ill for most of yesterday, presumably from dinosaur overdose. I'm still a little under the weather, but hopefully by tomorrow I'll be totally back to normal.**

**This chapter is not anywhere near as long as the previous one, but that's because it's almost kind of filler-ish in nature – that is to say, it's the transition between leaving the island and the actual exam-thing, but doesn't feel very important. To me, anyway, so I tried to make it as un-boring as possible. Reports vary on how well I succeeded. It still came out longer than I expected it to, so yay!**

**Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize as canon most likely belongs to me unless otherwise noted. Everything else belongs to LEGO.**

**Velocitas Eradico  
><strong>**By: Saya Moonshadow  
><strong>_**Anima mala**__**  
><strong>__**(Evil Soul)**_

Lhikan had long ago discovered that he absolutely hated sailing.

For a being from Manga Nui, consisting of a culture that worshiped boats and the fact that they gave one the ability to travel well beyond the island's perimeter, this was something of an oddity. But there was an odd one out in every group, and Lhikan supposed he just had the misfortune to be the one from his own home island. Even other Ta-Matoran from Mangai Nui enjoyed sailing, just so long as they didn't have to get wet in the process, but not Lhikan.

Long ago, someone had teased him mercilessly about this fact, and he had responded in kind that those with the element of Fire had a very good reason to dislike the ocean. It was cold, and wet, and strange things lived in its depths. Not to mention the horrible storms that often brewed in the regions to the deep South, where they were headed. The ship's internal systems would let him know if a storm was coming, and what path to take so it could be avoided, but he hated the idea of it all the same.

Yes, Lhikan Mangai was very decidedly not a fan of boats or sailing.

Then again, he'd once known a Ga-Matoran who couldn't swim, so he supposed he couldn't complain too much.

He had spent most of the past three days holed up in the control room of the ship, keeping a close eye on the navigation system and only coming out when forced to by Naho. The Matoran, thankfully, seemed to have deemed him a lost cause when it came to getting to know him, and were quite content to leave him alone on the rare occasions that he appeared before them.

Whenever one of them _did_ approach him, however, he would often be at a loss for words, which bothered him. He was a fairly charismatic being by nature - or, at least, he assumed he was, judging by how so few people seemed to truly dislike him - but had never been one for much conversation with others. When it came to those he'd known for quite some time, he was more than willing to both talk and listen, but with these Matoran, whom he'd known for only a few days and whose names he could hardly remember, he was rather less enthusiastic.

A big part of his reservations was in that he didn't know which of them would succeed in the exam, if any did at all. The previous four exams had yielded lackluster results, with the very last one only giving a total of three passing grades. Not enough to make a Toa team, and so no one had been given the opportunity to claim the prize.

Naho was less pessimistic, which didn't surprise him. She was always looking for the good in others, and had told him several times over the past couple of days that she had a good feeling about this particular bunch.

In turn, he'd told her his own reservations, namely the jumpy Ga-Matoran who stared at nothing, the aggressive Ta-Matoran who got into verbal spats daily, the spacey Le-Matoran with less grace than an ash bear, the surly Ko-Matoran who glared at anyone unfortunate enough to make eye contact with him, the quiet Onu-Matoran who spent his time scribbling things onto a long roll of parchment he'd brought with him, and the active Po-Matoran who had spent the majority of the trip with a bucket in his hands.

None of those six had an inkling of a chance, so why on earth were they even considered for this challenge, he asked her. He'd be surprised if they even made it out alive, and what he'd seen so far hadn't impressed him in the least. Well, perhaps the surly Ko-Matoran and the aggressive Ta-Matoran would, since they both possessed a level of stubbornness he hadn't witnessed in a _very_ long time, but the others?

Naho's response was not to judge by appearances, or by his own preconceptions. "You usually don't do that," she frowned as she watched him steer the ship in the control room, "so why are you doing it now?"

Lhikan really didn't have an answer for her that wouldn't result in her being even more disappointed in him than she already was, so he remained silent.

In truth, he had to admit to himself that a lot of it had to do with the fact that he simply _hated_ the exam period and what it did to the contestants. He knew certain others enjoyed watching and participating in the events, but he'd never been happy watching so many Matoran pitted against each other like that. His own exam had been brutal enough on its own, and he'd been absolutely shocked at how far some Matoran were willing to go to win a prize that they knew absolutely nothing about.

They'd been told nothing about what they would receive at the end of it, and they'd still gone after it with so much conviction. So had he, though he hated to admit it, especially when the item his group had been carrying was stolen. He'd been determined as hell to get it back, and had done everything in his power to do so.

But he'd been careful. Lhikan hated bringing harm to others, a trait that had earned him a fair amount of ridicule in his younger days, and it had been difficult for him to do so during the exam that had resulted in his being elevated to Toa status. But he'd done it anyway, and here he was several thousand years later, still a Toa.

Naho was still watching him carefully, and once again, he knew she had a feeling for what was going on in his head. Were all users of the Rima of Psychometry this perceptive, or was it just Naho? "Lhikan," she said gently, "it's OK. Really. We'll be there patrolling during the event, and we'll make sure no one is seriously injured. And Daxia has some of the best medical facilities on the planet. Deaths have been virtually nonexistent during the Toa Examinations for millennia now. Even serious injuries are a rarity."

He was aware of this. Having used Daxia's medical facilities many times himself (he had even nearly died there once, following a botched mission the details of which were now rather hazy), he was very aware of how advanced they were. But he'd never been able to get over his childish need to keep everyone safe, and this was most certainly not a safe situation to put a bunch of Matoran in. Deaths _had_ occurred before, and even the best of precautions could fail, given the right circumstances. Especially given the Order of Mata Nui's rather appalling lack of reverence for the lives of others...few of them truly seemed to grasp just how important each and every life on the planet was. A sacrifice for "the greater good" was still a sacrifice, and thus a tragedy in Lhikan's mind.

But he mentioned none of this to Naho. It just wasn't worth it, and besides, she'd just lecture him about being such a downer again. "I know," he chose to say instead.

She beamed at him, and he felt a momentary stab of guilt for having deceived her in any way. She really deserved a better friend than him. The only thing he was good for when it came to friends was losing them in some way. She was quite literally the last one left.

But it was better than upsetting her by letting her know what he really thought. He preferred this happy Naho over the unhappy one that surfaced whenever she realized that her words were not truly reaching him. Not in the way that mattered.

He wished he could be a better friend to her, and, moreover, be the person she thought he was. But he hadn't been that person in a very long time. Maybe he never had been, now that he thought of it. As far as Toa went, he was a well-admired one, he knew. He was powerful, intelligent, and skilled, and he felt no shame in thinking this. But all his power, intelligence, and skills hadn't been enough to stop so much bad from happening anyway, had it?

He often wondered what the point of it all was. Was there even one?

Realizing the dark turn his thoughts had taken, Lhikan checked himself sharply. Thinking like that was very dangerous. Those kinds of thoughts had turned many a lesser Toa into monsters, one of whom had been his teammate once, a very long time ago. He could point to that incident as the moment when his life had started going wrong, event by event by event.

He had to remain positive, or he was literally going to drive himself insane with these negative thoughts. There would be a time and a place later for sorting himself out, and he could not allow himself to fall just yet.

Not before the terms of his wish were fulfilled, anyway. Once that was over, then...well, then he supposed it wouldn't quite matter. He'd have accomplished his life's goal, the thing he'd sacrificed his very soul for, and after that, he wouldn't have to worry about anything.

There was a sudden commotion from one of the alarms - an unauthorized intruder was on the deck, Lhikan saw, and felt his blood run cold as he remembered that their Matoran charges spent much of the day up on the main deck.

"I'll stay and continue to steer," Naho told him, immediately falling into what he privately referred to as her "battle mode". "You go up and see what the problem is. Yell if you need my help."

It was unlikely that he would, but he nodded to her all the same and dashed up the stairs to the deck, praying that no one had been seriously injured and that he would be able to drive whoever it was away without damaging the ship too much.

The door to the main deck hit the wall with a loud crash as he flung it open and charged outside. When he saw who it was, however, he found himself wishing it really had been an enemy.

Lhikan had never met a being more unpredictable and sadistic than Botar of the Southern Islands that could still claim to be on the side of the "good guys", and he doubted he ever would - unless, of course, it was a being of that same race of savages. He'd harbored a deep-seated dislike of the blue-and-yellow being ever since first laying eyes on him, and Botar's personality had only caused the dislike to deepen with each subsequent encounter, though they were mercifully few and far between.

He didn't blame the Matoran on deck for dashing behind him into the relative safety of the ship's bowels, though a few of the more brave (read: foolhardy) ones chose to stay and peek out from behind his legs. He was both amused and annoyed to realize that Tahu and Kopaka were among these few, as was the rather shy, enigmatic Gali, much to his surprise. He'd have thought she'd be the first one to turn tail and flee when Botar turned up.

She still looked absolutely terrified, he saw, but she wasn't going anywhere. Nor did it seem that she was simply frozen in fear. In fact, it looked like she was attempting to steel herself. He felt a slight twinge of pride at her obvious attempts at bravery, and a more pronounced twinge of annoyance when he noticed that Tahu looked angry and Kopaka disdainful rather than afraid.

"Hello, Botar," Lhikan said in a carefully neutral tone, walking up to the much taller being and giving him a short bow, keeping his eyes on him the whole time. He didn't trust Botar in the least, and was aware that the teleporter both knew this and was amused by it. "Why are you here?"

"Lhikan Mangai, well met," Botar replied, his gravelly voice filled with amusement at the Toa's attitude and not bothering to return the bow. Well met, indeed! This was anything _but_. "I am here to check on you and your charges."

Lhikan gritted his teeth angrily, but was careful to hide his displeasure. Botar had a hair-trigger temper, and he was more than aware that he was nowhere near strong enough to fend him off in a fight. Powerful Toa though he was, Botar was not the Order's one-man capture-and-execution squad for nothing. "Was this on Helryx's orders?" he asked. "I'd like to see your verification."

Botar sniffed at him in mock offense, though he couldn't quite keep the corners of his fanged mouth from turning up. "Helryx didn't order me to do anything. I'm here of my own volition, though you'd already figured that out, hadn't you?" His red eyes spotted the few Matoran who'd not run away when Lhikan opened the door, and they took on a rather feral glow that Lhikan didn't like in the least.

He stepped back into the Southerner's line of sight, effectively blocking his view of the Matoran. It was difficult to admit, but facing down an enemy hellbent on killing him was much less daunting than having Botar merely look at him. Having him _smiling_ at him in that sadistic way was even worse. The teleporter looked uncomfortably like a hungry Muaka when he did that.

"Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave and go back to Daxia to await our arrival tomorrow morning. Please inform Helryx we will be there by sunrise," Lhikan said flatly.

"No." Botar's reply was short and to the point. "I want to get a feel for the participants, and as it is, I am already here. What's the point of waiting when what I want is in my grasp?"

There was nothing Lhikan could say that would not earn him a blade in his gut at the very least, and so he remained silent, glaring.

Botar smirked at him, and it was the most infuriating thing he'd seen in a while, both because of the smugness of the expression and the fact that he could do nothing about it. "I thought so. Inform them that they have nothing to fear from me. I want to see them in their natural form."

He spoke of the Matoran as if they were Rahi, Lhikan thought furiously. As if some of them were not right there, _listening_ to him speak. Still not responding to the teleporter's words, he strode to the other side of the deck from where Botar had situated himself and leaned against the guardrail, arms crossed and eyes glaring.

The few Matoran in the doorway stayed there as the next few minutes dragged on awkwardly while Botar stared smugly at Lhikan and Lhikan glared back. He was aware that even glaring could be pushing it with Botar, but was past caring. Besides, Botar seemed more amused than angered by his animosity, which was a good sign. At least no one was currently in danger of being permanently traumatized just yet.

Eventually, the Matoran except for Tahu, Gali, and Kopaka turned and went down the stairs to the ship's cabins, and Tahu and Kopaka both went over to Lhikan, standing on either side of him. Gali hovered anxiously for a moment, biting her lip, before apparently deciding to simply remain where she was. Watching her, Lhikan bit back a sigh.

Botar, meanwhile, had partially turned to face the ocean, apparently having grown bored of their staring contest. He remained silent for a very long time, his thoughts apparently deep (and doubtless full of violence, Lhikan thought sourly), when he began to make a strange sound.

It took Lhikan a moment to realize that the sadistic teleporter was _humming_. It wasn't a tune he'd ever heard before, dark and slightly haunting, and after the first few bars of the song, Botar opened his mouth and began to sing.

"'Twas many a misty morning past  
>That the <em>Tempest<em> left Black Kahu's Bay  
>Setting sail for lands unknown<br>Seeking fortune along the way..."

A song about sailing? He hadn't heard any of Botar's culture's songs, but he was surprised that there were any about the ocean. Songs about sailing and the ocean were more of his own island's thing. Practically all songs and poems that came from Mangai Nui's people were about those two things.

"All those aboard bid the wasteland farewell  
>As the ship left the harbor astern<br>And the _Tempest_ sailed off out into the mist  
>Never to return..."<p>

Lhikan felt his stomach churning. He should have known.

"Out in the midst of the ocean's abyss  
>A furious beast crossed their path<br>And the ship and its crew all perished beneath  
>In Deepcoiler's merciless wrath.<p>

So beware the whispering wind  
>In the misty dead of night<br>For the voices ye hear  
>Are but ghosts, and I fear<br>There's no end to their journey in sight..."

Of course. A song about people being drowned at sea. He really should have known.

The three Matoran now all looked faintly sick, even the previously unflappable Kopaka, and Lhikan felt his anger return in spades.

Botar was watching them with that same sadistic gleam in his eyes. He was doing it on purpose, Lhikan knew, but he didn't dare call the larger being out on it. Instead, he took a deep breath to calm himself, and was slightly proud of himself when he realized that he was not radiating heat fit for a furnace.

"So harken, ye pirates and black-hearted dogs,  
>Lest your fate be the same or far worse<br>For all those who set sail beneath chains set aflame  
>Are destined to suffer this curse..."<p>

The teleporter was sizing the three up, and quite obviously having fun while he was at it. He was also obviously not very impressed, and was likely having the same thoughts that Lhikan had had - that it was unlikely these three would come even close to passing the test.

Inexplicably, Lhikan felt his opinion of them heightening. Perhaps it was merely in response to Botar's disdain for them, but he suddenly found himself dearly hoping that these three were among the ones that would pass and thus prove this sadistic freak wrong on several levels. He could see that Gali was shaking, and felt Tahu grip his leg for a few seconds before the headstrong Ta-Matoran released him, and honestly felt proud of them for not giving into their fear.

Perhaps he had been wrong about them. He sincerely hoped so, if for nothing than so he could see the expression on Botar's face when - _if_, he had to remind himself - they passed.

"So beware the whispering wind  
>In the misty dead of night<br>For the voices ye hear  
>Are but ghosts, and I fear<br>There's no end to their journey in sight  
>There's no end to their journey in sight..."<p>

The song was finally over, but the smirk still did not leave Botar's face.

Casting him one last glare, Lhikan shepherded the three Matoran through the door and to below deck, then went to inform Naho of what had just transpired.

He didn't expect her to help him with the situation at all - she was terrified of Botar, as most creatures were. Lhikan could not say why he himself was not also afraid of him (and he had more than enough reason to, having witnessed what he was capable of first-hand the first two times they'd met), but all he felt towards the taller male was contempt. It wasn't something he was proud of, as he tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt whenever possible, but something in him vehemently rebelled at the thought of getting along with Botar.

Part of this dislike stemmed from how obviously powerful Botar was (several times stronger than any Toa with the possible exception of Helryx), but most of it was the attitude. He _hated_ Botar's attitude. Hated it with a passion, hated it like he hated very few things.

The Order of Mata Nui was filled to the brim with personality disorders, he thought dismally. If only the same couldn't be said about most Toa teams.

As he had expected, Naho was less than thrilled to find out just who their intruder was. He allowed her a moment to get her nerves under control, and then ordered her to stay below deck for the rest of the trip, just barely managing to hide his smile when she tried and failed at hiding her relief.

"I can't believe you're not scared of him," she remarked, gripping the wheel perhaps harder than needed. "Nearly everyone else is as well."

Lhikan shrugged. "He's also saved my life twice now," he admitted, albeit begrudgingly. "I guess all my fear went towards the things he saved me from, and left none over for him."

She nodded, thankfully not going into either of those encounters. She knew most of the details, anyway, and was aware that both were sore topics. "But still...the way he goes on about his captures...and those _teeth!_" She gave a disgusted little shudder. "Jerbraz once told me that it doesn't matter to him if his food's alive or dead; he'll eat it all the same. Isn't that horrible?"

Lhikan had absolutely no trouble in picturing Botar eating live creatures. In fact, it was disturbingly easy. He'd never seen him eat, and made a mental note to avoid doing so at all costs, even if what Jerbraz said was false. Tempting fate had never been his thing, and he had no desire to mentally scar himself any further than had already happened.

"The Matoran will have to be told to stay below deck," he said to get both their minds off Botar's potential eating habits. "I doubt he'd do anything to them, but it never hurts to be careful. At the very least, I wouldn't put it past him to frighten a few of them out of the running."

Naho agreed, and he left to inform their charges of their new orders.

Once he was gone, she rested her head on the steering wheel with her eyes closed for a moment, breathing in deeply. She was not a coward by any means, but Botar incited some deep, instinctive fear in most beings, and she was slightly ashamed to have to admit that she was one of those. It was in the way he sized you up, she decided. The way he looked at you and immediately gauged your threat level, and then let you know with the expression on his face that he would have absolutely no problem taking you down in a heartbeat. Nor would he regret doing it.

He was an apex predator, and viewed the world around him as his personal hunting ground. Any and all that had the misfortune of crossing him were his prey.

She made a mental note to stay away from Botar for the rest of this assignment. At least it was almost over, and then she and Lhikan could go back to their regular duties, just the two of them, no special favors for Helryx and no psychopathic carnivorous hunters, either.

* * *

><p>She didn't know why she was doing it.<p>

The compulsion to stay put was very strong, but even stronger was the one to go back out on deck, to the point of overwhelming her. She'd never had this feeling before, and could only chalk it up to some misplaced sense of bravery.

Often called a coward by her fellow Ga-Matoran (the nicer ones simply referred to her as a nervous wreck), Gali was fairly sure she was heading to her own death with this little venture. OK, so maybe this was less bravery than it was a subconscious attempt at suicide.

Toa Lhikan had called him "Botar", she remembered. One glance at him had been enough to terrify her, and that horrible song he'd so cheerfully sung had compounded that fear, but still she felt the compulsion to go back and see him again. Morbid fascination, Turaga Meiko would have called it.

Carefully, so as not to alert anyone to the fact that she was missing from the cabin she'd been sharing with the other four selected Ga-Matoran, she slipped out onto the main deck. The sky was dark and the moon bright, but the stars - oh, the stars!

She'd never seen so many stars before!

For a moment, Gali forgot why she'd gone up on deck in the first place in favor of tilting her head back and taking in the sight of the darkened heavens unfettered by the lights of her village. Many of them were in an odd almost-smudge pattern that stretched across the whole sky as far as she could see, and overall, there were just too many to count. She felt she'd have better luck trying to count the grains of sand on the beach her village rested by.

"Lost?"

Gali nearly jumped out of her mask at the sound of the gravelly voice behind her, having completely forgotten that its owner was still out here. She managed to keep herself from falling flat on her rear, but it was a very near thing. Once properly situated, she looked over her shoulder at the very large being who was currently eyeing her like she was a bug.

A very _amusing_ bug, but a bug nonetheless.

"I said, are you lost?" he repeated his question, and she hurriedly shook her head, eyes wide. She couldn't find her voice to speak with, and so just gazed at him - "tall" was her first impression. This in itself was unusual, since she knew most of the others who'd seen him had first seen those ungodly fangs, but it was his height that intimidated her most about him. She was short even for a Matoran, but Botar was taller than any other two-legged sentient being she'd ever seen, taller even than Toa Lhikan by a very wide margin.

Something stirred to his right.

When Botar did not even react to the thing floating by his right shoulder, she relaxed slightly. This was what she had come for. So he _did_ have some of them hanging out around him, just as she'd thought. Then she frowned. Usually this didn't happen unless a couple other factors were present, or if-

"What on Daxia are you looking at?" he asked her, breaking her concentration again. He tilted his head as he spoke, looking almost animalistic with the action. His eyes tracked where hers had been just a moment ago, but saw nothing, just as she knew he wouldn't. There was nothing there that he could see.

She tried to answer him, but couldn't. Her throat had closed up again, and no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't open back up. She knew he was expecting an answer, so she just shook her head again, hoping it would satisfy him.

Gali absolutely _hated_ when this happened, and it happened so often that many were under the impression that she didn't have a voice at all. When she got nervous, her mouth and throat would refuse to cooperate and allow her to do much more than breathe. She couldn't remember the last time she'd spoken in public, actually. Mostly, the only one she talked to was Turaga Meiko, and on occasion Kai, who was boisterous but also very kind to her. The others...they'd long ago given up on getting her to open up to them.

It wasn't that she didn't want to...it was just that she _couldn't_.

There was another movement, this time above his head. Her eyes tracked it before she could think to stop herself.

Suddenly Botar laughed. "Ah, so you're one of _those_, are you?" His fangs glinted in the light of the lanterns situated on either side of the door leading to below deck.

She didn't understand quite what he meant, but the sinking feeling in her gut told her otherwise. No one else had figured it out before, not even those psychologists on Metru Nui had been able to figure out what was really wrong with her. Not that she could bring herself to have an actual conversation with them that didn't involve excessive stuttering, but...

"There are a few like you where I come from," Botar informed her, causing her to look at him for the first time without fear. He smirked at her obvious confusion. "On my island, people like you are...not exactly celebrated, but certainly welcomed and respected. I've never heard of a Matoran being able to do it before. I bet you're very proud of yourself, aren't you? Being different from your friends and all, doesn't it make you feel special?"

Vehemently, she shook her head. It didn't make her feel special at all - rather, it just drove home how very _alone_ she felt at all times. It would be so nice to have someone besides the Turaga to talk to about her problem, but she'd been advised against telling anyone else. Heck, it would be nice to have someone besides Turaga Meiko to talk to about _anything_. If only she could just bring herself to speak to other people without her voice freezing up before she could get any words out.

"No?" Botar laughed derisively. Gali didn't take offense to it, aware of how ridiculous it all probably sounded to him. If..._people like her_ were nearly celebrated on his island, she was willing to bet that they were all very full of themselves. Finding one who loathed herself for it was probably hard for him to believe.

"Good." She looked up, half-sure she'd heard wrong, but though he was still grinning in that horrible way of his, he didn't seem like he was teasing her. "I hate all of them. They think they're so much better than everyone else, just because they see things no one else can. So bloody what? I was my tribe's best warrior, and did anyone care about that? No."

She got the feeling that he enjoyed the knowledge that he was the best, despite his words.

"So, why are you out here, anyway? Didn't Lhikan Mangai tell you all to stay away from me? That's insubordination, you know." He grinned unpleasantly at her, making her shudder.

Yes, she was going against Toa Lhikan's orders, and it still shocked her that she'd even thought of doing so. Usually she was much better-behaved. Disobeying orders was more Kai's thing, not hers. And speaking of Kai, she'd probably be getting a little worried about her by now, wouldn't she?

She pointed at the thing still floating over his head; if he already knew what she could do, what was the point of pretending otherwise? He'd just mock her some more, or maybe even get angry, and she had no desire to provoke someone who was several times bigger than herself, and infinitely stronger, to boot. Especially when those fangs were also included. He could probably bite her right in half with those things.

"I've got one of 'em hanging around me, huh? Figures. So that's what's got you so wired up?"

She nodded cautiously, but he only snorted. "Huh. And here I thought you were just a little mouse with no backbone. Looks like you've got more backbone than any of these other mice. Certainly more than Naho Mahi's got; she can't even look me in the eye without quakin' in her armor."

Gali could not honestly say what possessed her to glare at him for this comment, but glare she did, though she was mortified a moment later, and squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a blow at the very least. His wry laughter surprised her, and she carefully opened one eye.

"Don't like that, huh? I'm not surprised. You Matoran get so up-in-arms whenever anything bad's said about your precious Toa. It was amusing the first several hundred times, but by now it's just old. Not all of them are worthy of such devotion. You all just blindly assume they're so wonderful, don't you?"

She shook her head.

"No? Hah! Then you'll be one of the few smart ones. You'd be surprised at the kind of atrocities I've seen Toa commit before...many of them worthy of my tribe's Archives."

She could only imagine the kind of things that were documented there. Most of them were probably terrible.

Come to think of it, what was his species even called? She'd never heard of, much less seen, another being like him, though she had to admit she didn't know much of the world in general. She wished she could ask, but her voice was still refusing to cooperate.

"There was one case I remember...a Fire Toa who torched the entirety of his own island because his team wouldn't make him their leader. Fire Toa lead by tradition, but these guys wanted to mix it up a bit...unfortunately, Shinoda Tora took issue with that. And now there's no more Tora Nui, and he's still at large." He grinned savagely, teeth bared. Gali stiffened up, hands clasped to her chest nervously.

"I can't wait till I catch up with that one. I don't even have to bother trying to bring him in. When I catch up with Shinoda Tora, I'll make sure he regrets every single second of his existence up till now."

Gali wondered how on earth she was supposed to reply to that when the door to below deck slammed open suddenly, and a furious-looking Lhikan stormed out. At his heels was a small blue Matoran with a dark blue Kakama - Kai!

The Fire Toa was radiating heat, which caused Kai to allow him to put a few feet in between him and her. He practically stomped up to Botar, stepping meaningfully in front of Gali - he was trying to shield her from Botar, she realized dully, too surprised by this turn of events to really register the act for what it was.

"Kai informed me that you were missing," His voice was low, soothing, despite the searing heat still coming from his form. "Are you injured in any way?"

"_I will rip him to shreds if you are,"_ was unspoken, and though she doubted he was anywhere near Botar's level of strength (and she hated herself for doubting him, but it was just the truth), she felt touched by the sentiment all the same.

Maybe not all Toa were honorable, but this one was.

"Relax, Lhikan Mangai," Botar said, his gravelly voice sounding bored. "I didn't do anything except talk to her. She didn't even have the manners to reply back at all."

Though his tone was only slightly mocking, she felt the flush of shame just the same. It was true, wasn't it? He'd said several things to her, and she hadn't been able to respond to a single one. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment at this admission. She really was worthless, wasn't she? There had been no one else around to hear her voice, either, and yet she still couldn't do it. And just the other day Turaga Meiko had claimed she'd been making progress...

Apparently that wasn't the case.

Lhikan watched the little Matoran obviously shaming herself at Botar's words, and felt a fresh surge of anger. Botar may not have cared what his statement was doing to her, but Lhikan sure did. He was aware that it had probably taken a very large amount of (very misplaced) courage for her to come out here earlier, and for her to actually stay was quite the feat. Not that it was anything to be proud of - Botar was very dangerous, and he was slightly surprised to see her still in one piece - but the fact that it had been this shy, practically mute little Ga-Matoran instead of one of the more assertive ones honestly shocked him.

"C'mon, Gali, let's go back down," Kai said quietly, taking Gali's arm and leading her away from the two larger beings. The slightly bigger Ga-Matoran sent Lhikan a thankful glance as they vanished through the door to return to their cabin.

Botar smirked at Lhikan before closing his eyes and leaning on his elbows on the ships railings, head skyward.

"Interesting bunch you've got here," he said finally. "I expect they'll give us quite a show tomorrow."

Lhikan's only response was to stomp back downstairs himself, slamming the door for good measure. He wasn't proud of the rather childish display of his anger, but he needed to get it out somehow, and using his powers was very much out of the question. He managed to lower his temperature so he was no longer in danger of melting the floor, and made his way back to the control room to take over from Naho.

With the mood he was in, he wasn't going to be sleeping any time soon, and it was a very disgruntled and sleep-deprived Lhikan Mangai that steered the ship to Daxia's main dock several hours later.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Lhikan in this fic is a lot more cynical than I'm used to writing. It's both a little weird and lots of fun to write. Somehow.<br>**

**By the way, can anyone direct me to a map of the Matoran Universe / Aqua Magna?**** I'm trying to get a good picture of the planet in my head, but I have nothing to go off of except for vague general descriptions of surface locations from Biosector 01 and such. A real map would be a big help, though I've yet to find one. Till then, I guess I'll just have to use the picture in my head (which I admit is not the greatest either). As far as I know, Metru Nui is rather to the north, Mata Nui is more or less near the equator, the Northern and Southern Continents are on either side of it (or thereabouts), and Daxia is somewhere to the southeast of the Southern Continent, but not quite as far down as the Southern Islands.**

**The song Botar sings is Nox Arcana's "Fate of the Tempest", on their **_**Phantoms of the High Seas**_** album (with a few adjustments to the lyrics to make them fit into the _Bionicle_ world - don't kill me!). I suggest you go give it a listen on YouTube or something, because it's awesome. As usual, the stuff about Botar's race in this chapter was all made up by me (as was the stuff about Lhikan's home island). That said, I think a warlike species like his would have many songs about battle and killing, and as such I guess it makes sense that they'd have a lot of legends and ghost stories to go with it (though honestly Botar has never struck me as the superstitious type). Therefore, while Botar doesn't put much faith into those stories, he still enjoys them for the content, particularly those about evildoers being punished for their crimes. He's also a sadistic asshole and enjoys scaring the Matoran with these stories. It's part of what makes him so much fun to write, to be honest.**

**As usual, thank you all so much for reading!**


	5. CONNECT

**We seem to have finally arrived at the action! Gawd, finally, it's only been like two years now.**

**Also, a big thank you to Primordial Soul for pointing me towards the map of the Matoran Universe! T'was a big help :)**

**Disclaimer: Anything you don't recognize as canon most likely belongs to me unless otherwise noted. Everything else belongs to LEGO.**

**Velocitas Eradico  
><strong>**By: Saya Moonshadow  
><strong>_**CONNECT**_

"_I won't forget the promises we exchanged  
>I close my eyes to affirm it<br>I will shake off the overwhelming darkness to move forward."_

* * *

><p>The suns were warm and bright, and the afternoon sky was mostly cloudless. Sunlight filtered through the leaves of the many strange trees and plants littering the land in a lush, tropical forest, dappling the ground below in odd patterns. The wind blew gently, giving a much-needed puff of coolness to the otherwise somewhat stifling heat. All in all, it was an absolutely beautiful day.<p>

The glory of nature was, as usual, almost completely lost on Kopaka.

The white Matoran trudged onward, studiously avoiding coming into contact with any of the foliage as best as he could and muttering sourly under his breath. It was entirely too hot, which was completely unfair to a Ko-Matoran like him, but did anyone care? No, of course not. Of freaking _course_ not.

_Find and retrieve one of the six protodermis orbs hidden somewhere on the island in order to complete this task. Use any and all resources available to you. Failure to retrieve an orb shall result in disqualification. Incapacitation shall result in disqualification. Anything goes. The event ends in three days, once both the suns have sunk below the horizon on the third day. Now...begin!_

So had spoken the large violet-and-yellow being who'd called himself "Jerbraz", not a full day earlier. An exam proctor, he'd also called himself.

Exam, Kopaka's rear end!

This wasn't an exam, it was Mata Nui Cow dung. Plain and simple. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so annoyed, but judging at the rate of his own temper, it was probably as early as the day before, when Toa Lhikan and that odd beast had faced each other down on the boat.

And apparently that odd beast was going to be participating in this blasted event in some way, too. If he was lucky, perhaps he could get some form of revenge on him for all those stupid comments, not to mention that horrendous song.

Spiteful, yes, but Kopaka was beyond caring at this point. He'd been dragged here more or less against his will (because when Turaga Jiyo wanted something from you, he got it, and no amount of logic or reason or deadly force would persuade him otherwise), and if he didn't manage to blow off some steam soon, he was going to go crazy.

First on his list: find and retrieve one of those protodermis orbs. It had been on the tip of his tongue to tell Jerbraz that if he wanted the orbs retrieved so badly, then he could damn well go do it himself, but there was propriety and the reputation of his village to consider, etcetera, etcetera, and so he'd refrained.

Second: get back to the fortress on the northern half of this crappy little island.

Third: demand answers and a room with at least three fans, and proceed to stay glued to said fans for the rest of the day.

Great Beings - his _sweat_ was sweating, it was so hot here.

Exactly _how_ was this exam supposed to be fair, again? He truly envied the Ta- and Po-Matoran participants at this time - they were used to boiling temperatures, so they were probably enjoying this heat. Heathens, all of them. Ko-Matoran weren't meant for this kind of thing, but of course no one had stopped to consider this.

He had no idea of any landmarks he could potentially check for one of those stupid orbs, with the exception of the volcano to the south, which Toa Lhikan had very conveniently pointed out to them as they had docked early that morning. Well, that seemed as good a starting point as any, though he was well aware that if he had been able to think of it, then several others would as well.

It was hard to see through the thick curtain of trees, but from his own rough estimate, he still had perhaps fifteen to twenty minutes before he reached it. And then would come the task of going up the damn thing. He hoped fervently that he wouldn't be expected to actually enter the crater. Only Fire Toa could do that without being set ablaze immediately upon entry, right? Surely someone had thought of that and been merciful enough to maybe place the orb _outside_ of the crater.

Though, just going from the few Order members he'd seen thus far (Botar, Jerbraz, and a dark-colored female whose name he hadn't managed to catch), it didn't seem like mercy was a shared trait amongst the organization.

"Dammit," Kopaka muttered to himself, shoving a large palm leaf out of his way. His mask was set into a firm scowl, bright blue eyes narrowed dangerously. If any of his fellow Ko-Matoran could have seen him now, they'd have been heading in the opposite direction. A loner of few actual enemies and even fewer actual friends (in fact, that latter group consisted of exactly zero people), he had no patience for the eccentricities of anyone besides Turaga Jiyo, and Jiyo got a pass _only_ because he was the Turaga. Had he been just another villager, Kopaka probably would have avoided him too.

Why he'd been chosen for this nonsense, he didn't know. It certainly hadn't been his choice, and if there was one wish he'd make right now, it would be to be back home in his hut on Mata Nui. Preferably still asleep and _not_ dealing with _this_.

The ground began to slope upwards, and he found a momentary respite from the onslaught of annoyance he'd been feeling - he'd reached the volcano! Now all he had to do was climb it and attempt to find the orb.

A frown crossed his face as he continued onward. And just how in the name of the Great Spirit was he supposed to find this orb? What if it was buried somewhere? If that was the case, then he'd never find it in time, he knew - he didn't have an Onu-Matoran's sense for the earth, however limited it might have been in comparison to a Toa's. The more he thought about it, the more unfair this test seemed.

No, all he had was a good head on his shoulders and excellent tolerance for freezing temperatures. And the former thing was certainly more than most of the other participants had, he reminded himself, and trudged on.

It was hard going. Kopaka had already been walking since early that morning, and it was now at least four hours after midday, and the terrain was harsh at best. He kept tripping over exposed roots and constantly had to shove hanging vines and branches out of his way, and the closer he got to the top of the volcano, the hotter it got. Several times he had to pause and catch his breath, bracing one hand against a tree or rock to keep himself upright, before plugging on through sheer determination.

Losing had never even been an option here. He was _going_ to emerge victorious and show those idiots who'd dragged him here what-for. Bet none of them expected a Ko-Matoran to be one of the six who'd bring back one of the orbs, what with their clear disadvantage in this place. No doubt at least three of the others would be Le-Matoran. This place was practically tailor-made for them, being so close to how the jungle back home was.

A familiar sound caught his ears, and without a thought, he pivoted in order to make his way towards it. Water! Blessed, sweet, (hopefully) cold water! He'd been in desperate need of a drink for _hours_ now!

Apparently there were streams around here. Thank Mata Nui. And with any luck, they would be fit for consumption. He seriously doubted Toa Lhikan and Toa Naho would have shoved them into too many dangerous situations, but he was thirsty enough that even if the water had been rotten, he might have drunk it anyway.

Either way, this was a good thing. He could follow the stream up the mountainside, and, with any luck, at least get a feel for where he was.

As he got closer to the sound of running water, he began to hear another sound - that of voices being raised in argument. Well, apparently he'd have to either hide and wait for them to go away, or find another point at which to get a drink. Or he could avoid them, as he usually did when confronted with other beings, all the while of course secretly watching them, and hope they didn't try to gang up on him. He decided on the first option, and as soon as he got close enough, he hid behind a large palm frond, peeking through the leaves at the two by the water's edge.

Po-Matoran, he saw - it was unusual for Po-Matoran to argue with anyone; from what he'd heard from Turaga Jiyo, they were usually rather genial and easygoing. The taller of these two seemed to match that description, having a friendly, open sort of face, and more relaxed body language. The other one was much more tense, glaring up at his companion with vitriol and shouting at him.

Kopaka shook his head. The idiots, didn't they realize how loud they were being? They'd be lucky if they didn't draw every set of ears on the island to them, at this rate.

They seemed to be arguing about something - the orb that was probably hidden here, he saw with some excitement. A smirk crossed his face; if he could follow them or if they were stupid enough, they'd blurt out the location and he could go retrieve it himself without the added annoyance of having to snatch it from them.

"I'm telling you, Ahkmou, it's not safe!" the larger one was saying angrily. "We should try to find another orb - this is the most obvious one, so of course everyone else will be trying to get it as well!"

"Stop being such a coward!" the other one snapped back. "No one else is here yet - we can grab it easily and get back!"

Not the sharpest tool in the box, this one. Kopaka rather agreed with the tall one's next words of, "Only an idiot would think it's that easy!"

They continued to argue, getting gradually louder and louder all the while. Kopaka was just beginning to consider going farther upstream rather than listen to this stupidity, when the smaller one took a step towards the taller one, whose back was to the water, and gave him a hard shove.

Not having expected this, the taller one yelped as he fell backwards into the water. The current was moving fairly fast, and he was quickly swept away by it, just barely managing to grab onto a rock at the water's edge by some stroke of amazing luck.

"AHKMOU, YOU TRAITOROUS BASTARD!" he howled, orange eyes blazing in fury. He sputtered the next minute as a particularly large wave hit him in the face, filling his mouth with water; he just barely managed to keep his hold on the rock.

Kopaka merely stared in shock as the smaller of the two Po-Matoran turned around and ran off, apparently not caring in the least that he had just condemned his fellow villager to a watery potential death. The guy didn't even look back, despite his "friend's" shouting.

Whatever his own feelings on the general populace of the rest of the world might be, Kopaka was not one to sit idly back as someone drowned without at least attempting to help. He burst out of his palm frond and dashed to where the Po-Matoran was clinging for dear life, pausing only to get a good grip on the hanging, whippy branches of a nearby tree. Once properly secured, he reached for the other Matoran, holding his hand out as far as it could go.

"Grab my hand!" he yelled.

The Po-Matoran, busy trying to not be swept farther downstream, hadn't heard him approach, and now jumped as though shocked. He nearly lost his grip and would have had not his right hand come close enough to Kopaka's own that it could be grabbed.

"PULL ME OUT, PULL ME OUT!" he shrieked. He had managed to get his upper body mostly out of the water, and one foot was braced shakily on the rock. Another surge of the water later, and he slipped back in, barely keeping a firm grip on Kopaka's hand.

Kopaka gritted his teeth, cursing his own conscience, but kept pulling. He could only hope that the branch he had in his other hand wouldn't give way; if it did, they'd _both_ go toppling into the fast-moving water, and then they'd be out of luck.

There was a sudden tug on the whippy branch from behind him, and the next thing he knew, he and the Po-Matoran were both soaring through the air to land in a muddy heap on the stream bank. As soon as the world stopped spinning, Kopaka leapt up, cursing as the action made his head throb, and frantically looked around. Who in the name of Karzahni had saved them? He couldn't see anyone around - whoever it was must have run the instant they'd done it.

He wasn't about to look a gift Husi in the mouth, as the saying went. He was still alive, and so was the Po-Matoran, who was laying facedown on the ground and cursing water with an impressive amount of anger.

Though he supposed that there was good reason to, given the circumstances.

Finally the Po-Matoran seemed to tire of cursing and looked towards his savior. "You saved me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow ridge curiously.

Kopaka warily nodded.

Unexpectedly, the Po-Matoran's face broke out into a big grin, and he was entirely unprepared for the fist that clocked him in the shoulder a second later. It nearly sent him back down; as it was, his other side was now covered in mud. He struggled back into a sitting position and glared angrily. If this was what he got for saving people, he was never doing it again!

The Po-Matoran laughed nervously. "Uh, sorry 'bout that. I guess I don't know my own strength, huh? You OK?"

"Fine," Kopaka muttered and picked himself up, looking at his mud-covered form dismally. Well, this was just _beautiful_. He looked like a mud monster now, with very little of his normal white and gray coloring showing through the brown covering him. A wash was definitely in order.

But sadly, the only place he could have washed himself off was in the stream - river, more like - he'd just pulled the Po-Matoran out of, and there was no way in Karzahni he was going back in there. He'd just have to put up with being a mud monster for now, apparently.

The thought was not a pleasant one. His already dark mood plummeted even further.

"Hey, listen, thanks for haulin' me outta there!" the Po-Matoran was saying now. He only half-listened to him, being too busy attempting to regain his bearings and trying to figure out how much farther he had to walk. "My name's Pohatu! What's yours?"

Kopaka didn't answer. Deciding to continue on his original purpose, he began walking back the way he came and quickly found the path he'd been taking up the volcano's side. He had to find that protodermis orb, or he'd never get out of here. Or, well, he _would_, but not in a timely fashion at all. And he _really_ wanted to just get this over with and go home already.

"Hey! Hey, wait up! It's polite to return the favor when someone's just introduced themselves, ya know!"

"I know," he replied. "I just don't care."

Instead of scowling, as he'd expected, Pohatu merely grinned at him. "I'll get it outta you eventually, then," he said, falling into step behind the Ko-Matoran. He didn't seem to have any problem whatsoever with being covered in mud, Kopaka noted with contempt. "So, where are we going?"

"Who invited you along?" Kopaka asked waspishly, not looking at him. "I never said you could come with me."

"Yeah, well, you kinda saved my butt and all. I can't just let that go without repayin' the favor at least once, right?"

Yes, he very well could, and Kopaka wasted no time in letting him know this. "I don't care about being repaid or whatever. Just go about your business and leave me alone." He didn't bother saying that it had been someone else entirely who'd actually saved them, but, being that he didn't know who'd done it, he kept this to himself. It wasn't likely Pohatu would believe him, anyway - he'd probably just say Kopaka was making excuses or something equally stupid.

To his dismay, Pohatu continued to follow him. "Can't. I'm gonna pay ya back, and that's final. So you're stuck with me till I've saved you or something. What's your name?"

Kopaka ignored him. He'd developed the skill during his years in Ko-Koro, and he'd gotten quite good at it, though he had to admit that he'd never really come across a Matoran like this one here. Turaga Jiyo was fairly similar to him, though he didn't really dare ignore the Turaga all that often. Just often enough that Jiyo understood he wasn't a lapdog; the Turaga had a rather annoying habit of treating him like he was a child under his tutelage or something. Kopaka supposed this was true enough, but Jiyo seemed to concentrate on him more than the others for some reason.

"Ya know, I'm just gonna keep buggin' you till you tell me," Pohatu said ominously, and Kopaka just barely managed to keep from growling. "I'm also gonna keep following you until I've paid you back, so don't even _think_ of tryin' to get rid of me. Besides, what's the harm in havin' a partner?"

Besides that fact that Pohatu's previous partner of a sorts had just tried to drown him?

"I work alone," Kopaka snapped, almost wincing at how cliche'd the phrase seemed, but it was true enough. He absolutely despised working with others.

"By choice, or just 'cause no one can stand you?"

This time, he didn't bother suppressing the growl.

Pohatu responded by snickering. Yes, he was rapidly beginning to wish he'd never gotten the idea to go towards that damned river. As much as his conscience was telling him that if he hadn't then this Matoran might have died, at the very least then he wouldn't have to put up with this much annoyance.

"So, what's your name? C'mon, I'm seriously not gonna stop till you—"

"Kopaka. My name is Kopaka," he finally bit out, interrupting Pohatu mid-sentence. "_Now_ will you stop talking?"

"Sure, but first tell me where we're going."

"To find the protodermis orb that might be hidden here. Stop talking."

Pohatu ignored his command. "You know, it might not be such a good idea to go after that one, man. Toa Lhikan made such a big deal out of it, _everyone's_ probably gonna go here first. We'd have better luck tryin' somewhere else, don't you think?"

"No. This is where I was headed before, and until I can confirm that it's no longer here, this is where I'll stay."

Pohatu huffed. "Fine, be that way. But don't blame me when you don't find it."

And then, bless the Great Spirit, he stopped talking! They continued on in silence, much to Kopaka's relief.

Perhaps miracles did exist...

* * *

><p>A loud beeping noise originated from her belt, and Johmak answered the device without bothering to check who it was. These communicators only worked on Daxia, anyway, and even then, were usually for use only in cases of emergency. Adjusting the headphone covering her left ear, she said into the mouthpiece, "What is it?"<p>

Instead of reporting, the voice on the other end began belting out a song in loud tones that made her wince and hold the device away from her ear.

"_Is there some way for me to say I think about you every day? What can I do? I feel so blue - I gotta get this message to youuuuu! I'm sending you an S-M-S, I'm sending you an S-S-M-S! I'm feeling that it would be the best, to send you an S-S-M-S!"_

She frowned. Of all the times for his stupid jokes...what the hell was an "SMS" supposed to be, anyway? "What do you want, Jerbraz?"

"_And hello to you, too. Just saved two Matoran from drownin' - a Po-Matoran, name of Ahkmou, apparently pushed 'em in when his partner started arguing with him. I think we can scratch him off the list, eh?"_

"You weren't seen, were you?" she asked, scratching the name "Ahkmou" off the list on the desk in front of her. Oh, how she hated desk duty, but someone needed to handle it, and unfortunately it was her turn. Tomorrow she'd have her turn out in the field, and she couldn't wait to get out of this stuffy room.

"'_Course not. They were too busy tryin' not to die to see me, and I got outta there as soon as I'd gotten 'em out. Looks like they might've teamed up, though."_

"Oh?" Her pen hovered over the list once more, an almost excited note having crept into her voice. "What were their names?"

"_Dunno. One's a Po-Matoran wearin' a Kakama, and the other's this really pissy Ko-Matoran with an Akaku. Lhikan or Naho might know, or Botar. He spent some time on the boat with them, didn't he?"_

Johmak murmured an affirmative. Helryx hadn't been happy to hear about that, but it wasn't like Botar had done anything explicitly against the rules. As punishment, he was also relegated to paperwork duty for the day, though he'd vanished about three hours ago, likely to go sulk or search for more of those disgusting leaves of his. Or worse, perhaps one of his even more disgusting meals. She made a mental note to check their rodent traps later that evening. It was entirely likely she'd find a few of them sprung but missing their captives again.

His one saving grace was that he was an extremely effective agent, with the least amount of failures to his name after Axonn and Brutaka. Otherwise, she'd have had much less tolerance for him. Though it had to be admitted that she didn't have much tolerance for him to begin with. The only one that ground her gears more was Jerbraz, but for an entirely different set of reasons.

In the seat across from her, she heard a cracking sound as Lesovikk stretched, his back popping from being in the same position for so long. He blinked at her sleepily, and she pointed at her communicator. He nodded, staying quiet.

"_Anyway, Johmak,"_ Jerbraz continued almost lazily, and she swore that if he was sitting in some tree and relaxing or something like that when he was supposed to be working, then she was going to throttle him,_ "I'm gonna follow 'em a little more and see if they can maybe pull it off. I'll call again if anything else happens. Take care of yourself. Jerbraz out."_

"Same to you," she replied quietly. Once the device was off and back in her belt's pouch, she turned to the Toa of Air in the seat across from her at the desk she was sitting at. He shifted again, his knees hitting the front of the desk with a muffled thump that made him wince.

"Are you OK?" she asked. "You can rest some more if you want, you know. It's rather boring in here."

He shrugged at her, staring down at the paper in front of her. Obligingly, she turned it around so he wouldn't have to read it upside-down.

"Already this many scratched off?" he asked, touching the seven names carefully.

She nodded. "Yes. The usual sabotage and whatnot. It seems Botar was right about _that_, at the very least. These are the ones who will _not_ be considered for the prize, even if they manage to bring back an orb. It's very unlikely they'll fulfill the other requirement, anyway."

"Indeed." Lesovikk frowned. "I heard just now that one of them almost killed another two. In my day..."

"Matoran betrayed each other back then, too," she told him dryly. "There's always going to be a few bad eggs among 'em. We're trying to weed them out here."

Lesovikk smiled a bit and shook his head. "No, I was going to say that back in my day, they were at least a little bit less...obvious about it."

"Very cloak and dagger, huh?" Johmak asked with a smile of her own. It was rare to see him smiling, and even rarer for him to be so lighthearted, especially during the examination period. At the very least, he wasn't moping for the moment.

"Who is out there right now?" he asked, changing the subject.

She turned her gaze upward, thinking. "Jerbraz, Hydraxon, Axonn, and Brutaka. And possibly Botar, but I doubt he'd so blatantly go against Helryx's orders after she tore into him this morning."

Lesovikk snorted, showing what he thought about it. She grinned in response; she had known she wasn't alone in her disdain for the teleporter, but it was always nice to be reminded of it.

"Lhikan is also somewhere around here, if you wish to speak to him," she continued. "As is Naho. Likely they're together; they always are."

Lesovikk frowned thoughtfully. He hadn't spoken to Lhikan or Naho in a very long time, so it might be a good idea to do so again, if for nothing than to simply get a feel for the outside world once more. He'd been separated from it for so long that he knew it would have changed drastically since he'd last seen it. He wondered if Jovan was still the resident Turaga of Voya Nui - they had met a few times, before he'd been holed up in here, and he'd rather liked the former Toa of Magnetism.

"Perhaps later," he finally decided, and Johmak nodded.

"OK. Let me know when, and I'll go get them."

"I can make my way to them on my own," he told her.

She stared at him. "You need to be careful, Lesovikk. If you have another—"

"I'm fine to walk through the fortress halls by myself, Johmak. I've never had a problem with that."

"Yes, but..." She gave up. The look in his eyes wasn't one that said he was going to be swayed from this, and while she would ordinarily argue further, she currently had no desire to do so. But really, couldn't he just accept the fact that he had a problem that was worth worrying about? She swore, _Toa..._ "OK, whatever. Just let me know whenever you want to go."

He nodded and settled back down into his chair, closing his eyes. Judging by his breathing, he wasn't going back to sleep, but she didn't mind. Johmak returned her attention to the paper in front of her. Well, hopefully not too many others would end up getting crossed off.

* * *

><p>At the same time that Kopaka was reluctantly allowing Pohatu to follow him up the side of a live volcano, another Matoran was having an entirely different problem.<p>

Whereas Kopaka's problem was that he didn't want to be around any other living being, this one's problem was that the only other living being he'd come across had squeaked and darted away upon seeing him. And as Tahu happened to have a very strong sense of justice and very little tolerance for false assumptions, this was an issue.

He stood beside the large bush the little Ga-Matoran had run into several minutes earlier, impatiently tapping his foot. He'd tried to move the bush aside, but doing so had caused her to flail alarmingly and he'd backed off quickly. It was bad enough that he was forced to stand here for so long as it was; any more noise and they'd probably be discovered.

"Look, will you just come out already?" he asked for what felt like the millionth time (in reality, it was the seventh). "I'm not gonna eat you or whatever, I just wanna talk. Seriously."

There was no reply from the bush, and Tahu frowned. He would have dearly loved to have just kept going so he could find a sphere and be done with this crap already, but it was plain that the Ga-Matoran in the bush was terrified and probably couldn't fend for herself out here. Or maybe she could. He conceded that he didn't really know anything about her other than the fact that she apparently found him terrifying, and he was determined to at least put that to rights before being on his way.

Spirits, he hadn't even got that great of a look at her before she bolted - the only reason he even knew she was a Ga-Matoran was because he'd caught sight of her deep blue coloring, though admittedly as a bit of a blur as she ran.

"Hello-o-o? Anyone home?"

Still silence. Tahu sighed and patted the bush with one hand, pleased to see that she didn't start flailing again. Maybe she'd gotten used to him or something, or maybe she'd _finally_ seen that he wasn't about to murder her. He'd take either one right about now.

If she had been one of his fellow Ta-Matoran, he might have been able to see why she was so afraid of him. He held absolutely no illusions about his reputation in his home village - that of a violent, bad-tempered ruffian - and he'd long learned to accept it. So what if he alienated a few idiots because he was too protective of Takua? It was their own fault anyway, for picking on someone who wouldn't fight back. Tahu just so happened to be the only one who was willing to stick up for the kid.

But this girl here...she shouldn't have had a reason. OK, maybe she had seen him arguing with somebody. That had certainly happened enough times during the trip down to this godforsaken island. But arguments were different from actual come-to-blows fights, and he _had_ explained his actual intentions here to her - namely, that he just wanted to talk.

Really, what was so hard to grasp about that?

And then, he froze, for a pair of bright golden eyes peeked out at him from the confines of the bush. He was aware that this situation must have looked completely ridiculous to anyone who might be watching.

After a moment of more silence, in which her eyes stared at him unblinkingly, he said, "Are you going to come out now?"

She remained silent, though the air developed a strange tenseness. He held his temper in check - she was obviously getting nervous, and he had no intention of scaring her. Again, anyway.

"I promise, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said, quieter than before. He did his best to sound patient, using the tone he usually reserved for Takua, but it was hard. Tahu was not a patient being by nature, and he was feeling rather frustrated today. But something deep within him told him that the effort would be worth it, so he went along. "I won't even touch you. Look, I'll even stand all the way over here if you want. All I wanna do is talk. OK?"

Another long moment of uneasy silence, and he was seriously beginning to consider leaving, when the bush rustled and a small blue figure climbed hesitantly out.

* * *

><p>She didn't know why she was doing this.<p>

By all rights, she should have just stayed hidden in that bush until he got annoyed enough to go away. She'd been absolutely terrified ever since getting separated from Kai, and his sudden appearance had startled her badly. That, and there was an extraordinary amount of _those things_ around here, which set her more on edge than she already was.

But constant nervousness had turned Gali into a very observant person, and she could plainly see the effort that this Ta-Matoran with the Hau mask was trying to make. He was the loud one - the one who'd gotten into so many arguments on the ship, and also the one who'd stayed behind with the surly Ko-Matoran to back Toa Lhikan up against Botar the night before, though she doubted he recognized her. Most people tended to forget she existed unless forced to acknowledge her in some way.

The mask on his face was a deep red, and his body was a mix of orange and red parts, fairly typical for a Ta-Matoran. He was built sturdily, with a face that was surprisingly fierce for someone of such short stature. But she found herself thinking that that countenance suited him. It was the kind of thing that would allow him to face down anyone or anything, no matter how threatening it happened to be.

Judging by the surprise on his face, he hadn't been expecting her to be whatever it was that he found her to be. She wasn't sure what that was, but perhaps he was expecting something more like Kai - loud, headstrong, practically fearless. She was anything but, on all three counts.

And so she stood in front of him, nervously ringing her hands and wishing she were back home right now more than ever. What exactly was she supposed to do in this situation? Run back into the bush? No, she couldn't, not after it had taken so much effort to muster the courage to come out. Talk to him? How could she, when her throat was closing up once more? Just stand there until the crack of doom?

...that sounded the most likely option, and she didn't like it a single bit.

"So, uh..." His voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she focused her full attention on him, eyes wide and nervous. _Don't run, don't panic. We're OK. We're OK._ "My name, it's, um, Tahu! It's Tahu. What...what's yours?"

She merely stared at him, unable to make a sound. Oh, why was it so hard to speak to other people?! She wanted to talk, wanted to answer his question, but the words simply would not come.

Tahu was clearly beginning to get annoyed, as his left foot started to tap against the ground, but he quit after a moment with a loud sigh. "Look, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," he said irritably. "I'm sorry for scaring you, so I'll just be on my way now. Is that alright?"

Almost no one had...ever asked her if she was alright with them leaving. It seemed a stupid thing to focus on, but to her, it was important, as no one else had ever bothered to ask if she was OK with them staying or going. They would just do as they pleased, with very little consideration as to how she felt. Only Kai and Turaga Meiko ever bothered anymore, though the others had a good reason, she knew. It wasn't like she would ever manage to give them a good answer.

Even still...

She nodded, and he sighed once more before turning to leave. Gali was about to do the same when a small movement caught her eye. She froze still as a statue, searching for that movement again. More than just movement, she had seen light reflecting off of something. A stray thought was niggling at the back of her mind - something Toa Naho had told them about during the few days it took to arrive here from her home island, but what was it? Something about things to look out for...why hadn't she listened better?! Gali had been more concerned about the number of Matoran around her and how claustrophobic it made her feel than with Naho's lecture. Kai had been paying attention, and she hadn't expected that they'd get separated, after all...but they had and she couldn't remember!

Something, something...what hid under cover of trees and plant life, and...

_Oh. Oh!_

She reached to the retreating Ta-Matoran, trying to call out to him, but once more, her voice caught. Spirits blast it, this was not the time! All she had to do was open her mouth and _speak!_

The life of another being depended on it, and still she couldn't make herself do it! Mata Nui, how pathetic was she? Everyone at home was right, she was a terrible person...

Gali's eyes widened when she saw the thing in the bushes move forward, the light coming from between the canopy of trees making its eyes shine again. The brief glimpse she got of it was enough to jog the memory of Toa Naho's words - Shallows Cat. A smaller and sleeker cousin of the great Muaka and usually found near the ocean, it was still large enough and vicious enough to cause significant damage on its own.

And now one was stalking them. Or, more accurately, stalking Tahu.

It stood up. The Ta-Matoran, busy muttering to himself about something she couldn't make out and keeping his eyes glued to the ground, did not see it.

If she didn't do something, then he was a goner. It would pounce and kill him if she didn't act immediately.

Her mouth opened, and a small, rusty-sounding squeak came out.

It was just barely audible, but it was still more than she'd managed to do in such a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been able to speak in public. Even privately had become difficult. More often than not, she was finding herself having to write things down in order to tell even Kai or Turaga Meiko anything.

Gali panted with fear, her throat threatening to close up again, but she valiantly fought against the deeply-ingrained instinct to shut up and shrink away. Someone's life was on the line here, and she knew that as soon as he reached a certain point within the Shallows Cat's sights, got within reach of its pounce, it would be all over for Tahu.

Another, slightly-louder sound came out. Tahu stopped, apparently having heard it, and turned back to face her. His eyes were really more pink than red, she noticed almost feverishly, still panting. Right now they were looking at her with confusion, and no small amount of trepidation.

"Um...are you alright?" he asked uncertainly. He took a step back towards her, still out of the Shallows Cat's range. It quickly hunkered down again, but she could see the bushes moving, indicating it was coming closer. Likely it wanted to make a meal out of both of them now, she thought - she attempted to speak, but all that came out was what sounded like a hiccup.

Tahu now looked more concerned than confused, and he hurried towards her as she breathed hard, clutching at her heartlight with both hands, her feet frozen to the ground. "Hey, hey! Breathe!" he exclaimed, placing both hands on her shoulders.

Breathe? She _was_ breathing, and that was the problem - she was breathing too hard, hyperventilating, Turaga Meiko had once called it. She had to calm down and _speak_.

He was entirely too close, invading the personal bubble that she already knew was far too big anyway, but it didn't make this any easier. All his attention was focused on her, and he was paying none whatsoever to his surroundings. An almost fatal mistake - she couldn't see the Shallows Cat or the bushes thanks to his shoulder being in the way, but she could still hear it rustling around. It was quiet, but her hearing had always been exceptionally good.

Tahu, for his part, was frantically going over what exactly one was supposed to do in cases like this. But what exactly _were_ you supposed to do when someone looked like they were on the verge of passing out in front of you?! Takua had never been this bad; sure, he could get a little weird at times, but never had the smaller Ta-Matoran gotten this anxious. Not around Tahu, anyway, and he spent a lot of time hanging around to make sure that nobody tried anything on him.

"It's OK," he said, gripping the still-nameless Ga-Matoran's shoulders firmly. "Slow your breathing down, and stay _calm_." He put extra emphasis on the last word, as she looked like she was about to get hysterical at any minute. Honest-to-Spirits fear was on her face, and she looked like she was desperately struggling with something, her mouth opening and closing several times with only the occasional small sound coming out.

Honestly, if he hadn't known any better, he would have said she was frantically trying to talk. But that was stupid, because everyone talked, and she should have no problem—

Her eyes suddenly went wide, cutting off his train of thought.

"DOWN!" she shrieked out of nowhere, and, shocked into obeying instantly, Tahu threw himself and her both to the side.

A great _whoosh_ sounded from behind him, and he felt wind at his back at the force of something large just narrowly missing them both.

He landed slightly on top of her, but was on his feet almost instantly, holding both arms up in order to shield himself and instinctively placing himself in between the silent Ga-Matoran and the big cat that had just tried to turn him into its dinner.

"I-is this what you were trying to tell me about?" he asked almost frantically. He didn't dare look back at her, but he practically felt her fervent nod in answer to his question.

Great Spirits, no wonder she'd looked so terrified. He would have been, too, had he seen this thing stalking them. Hell, he was terrified now, not that he'd ever admit it. Bold Tahu might have been, but even he was more than aware that a Matoran would have no chance against something this big...and with such sharp teeth and claws.

The Shallows Cat, for that was what it was even if he didn't remember its name, hissed at him, baring its fangs. It had already picked itself up and was stalking towards him.

"Sha...Shallows C-C-Cat," the Ga-Matoran behind him whispered, and he had to keep himself from turning to look at her. But it looked like her words had died once more, because all she did after this was shakily stand up and grab his arm. He could feel her shivering, and could hear the ragged breaths she dragged in.

OK. OK, he could do this. They just had to get away from the thing without inciting its instinct to chase them. Move away slowly and carefully. Don't look it in the eye, but watch it without looking away. And what else? What else was he supposed to do to get away from a wild hunting Rahi? Most Rahi that lived around Ta-Koro were dangerous only if their nests were threatened, and everyone with half a brain knew not to go near the areas where they lived. Even the Hikaki Dragons, one of which had given him a nasty scar on his left arm when he ventured too close to its nest and the babies within, could be docile as long as you approached them right.

_At least it's not a Nui-Rama,_ he thought, shuddering at the idea of the large bug-like Rahi that sometimes flew over Ta-Koro in swarms from Le-Wahi.

He could handle this. He could.

Carefully, he took a step back and was relieved when the Ga-Matoran did the same thing. She seemed to have caught on to his idea, and though she kept a tight hold of his arm with both hands and was shaking and once again completely silent, she also appeared much calmer than before. At least she no longer looked like she was about to pass out on top of him. He felt his confidence returning to him, and was relieved to notice that with it, his level of fear was drastically reducing.

Calm. He just had to remain calm and not get angry. And also not piss it off.

They had moved perhaps seven feet backwards when the Shallows Cat finally decided it was tired of waiting. It was hungry, and though most of its kin liked to play games and trick their prey into believing they were harmless before turning and killing them, this one was older and weary of such things. It wanted to eat, and not often did it run across such a large meal like this. Mostly all there was to eat was the slower, stupider birds and sometimes the spiny, rainbow-colored fish that swam in the streams and had teeth like needles.

It growled and stalked forward, its paws silent on the ground. The two brightly-colored creatures in front of it continued to retreat, the smaller one still clutching at the arm of the larger one, who was glaring at it intensely. It had no name for their species, but it had seen them sometimes before - not often, though. But there had been others, at times...and it had never once had the opportunity to know what they tasted like. It had had no need - the last time it had seen them, it had been a little younger, and still capable of moving like a young cat. But the years were beginning to catch up with it, and it had found it could no longer quite keep up with the world around it.

It hoped it would be able to catch both these creatures - it was so very hungry from not eating in so long, and they did look like they would be good eating.

It lunged, and the bigger one made a loud noise, shoving both himself and the smaller one forward. The Shallows Cat screeched angrily as it once again missed its target by sailing right over them, managing to peel itself off the floor in time to see the big one grab the hand of the small one and sprint away at a surprisingly fast rate for such a small thing, practically dragging her along.

It prepared to chase after them even though its joints had begun to ache with the force of now two rough landings, but a noise behind it made it pause. It turned around as a shadow loomed over it, flattening its ears to its head with a half-terrified, half-enraged hiss, and lowered itself to the floor as though about to pounce.

This new creature spoke, its red eyes flashing irritably from the slits in its gold-colored mask, though of course the Shallows Cat didn't know what was being said. The voice was dark and deep, and struck a chord of fear somewhere deep in the cat's brain.

"Away with you," said the being, eyeing it with disdain. "Go find dinner elsewhere, you mangy thing."

When the Shallows Cat did not move, the gold-and-blue being let out a long-suffering sigh and removed his weapon from his back - a great, double-bladed sword that his best friend had given the rather uninspired name of Rotating Blades. Even before the weapon was properly out, however, the old Rahi had darted for the cover of the trees as fast as its aging body would allow, yowling all the while.

Brutaka blinked, staying stationary for a second, then took out his weapon anyway. Some beings just didn't appreciate fine weaponry. Then again, what exactly was he to expect out of an old Shallows Cat? Smelly things they were, and he wasn't overly fond of their usual method of attack, either.

And speaking of which, who in their right mind would fall for that act, anyway? A giant cat with large claws and teeth acting like it was a harmless little Hoto bug? Please. They'd have to come up with something else if they ever wanted to fool anybody with any modicum of sense.

Suddenly remembering what he was there for, Brutaka straightened and strode to where the two Matoran had vanished, examining the breaks in the bushes along the path. They'd been going rather fast without bothering to cover their tracks, he saw - but, as they'd been running from something that had intended to kill and eat them, that was almost forgivable.

More interesting was the fact that they had gone together - and, from what he'd observed before driving their attacker off, they had been more or less working together from the very start. The Ga-Matoran had saved the Ta-Matoran from death by warning him of the danger, and he in turn had done the same for her by taking her with him when he retreated. Not that they had really had anything to worry about, of course - Brutaka had been literally about to step in and take care of things when the Ga-Matoran had shouted to get down, and it was only curiosity for the proceedings that had stopped him from getting involved until they fled.

A smirk crossed his usually austere face, and he casually felt around his belt until he came across the small device held within one of its pockets.

"Yes, Johmak?" he said into it once his call was answered. "You'll never believe what I have just witnessed..."

* * *

><p>While Brutaka was busy describing what had just happened to Johmak, Tahu and his still-nameless companion had only just stopped running when they came across a stream. Finally releasing her hand, the Ta-Matoran fell to his knees, panting hard and letting his head hang down.<p>

Disregarding his usual disdain for water, he crawled towards the stream and dipped one hand in, intending to drink from it - only to reel back when a rainbow-colored fish appeared out of seemingly nowhere, snapping at him with its needle-like teeth before plunging back into the water. He snorted with disgust, making a spiteful splash.

"Spirits, even the water around here's dangerous," he growled at his companion, who was watching him warily. "What the hell is the point of any of this, anyway? To see how long we can go without getting eaten by something? Well, that makes twice now we've avoided it, so it looks like we're doing pretty good on that front, except I'd really prefer it if we didn't have to do any of this crap. Whose bright idea was this? I'm gonna knock them into next week if I ever find 'em, I swear I will. And you still haven't told me your name!"

Instead of flinching away from him as he'd expected, she smiled at him, looking amused. Well, wasn't that nice of her. Here he was, describing all of their current problems, and she was looking at him as though he were a comedy act or something. That was Ga-Matoran for you, he thought, thoroughly disgruntled. Weirdos, all of them. After all, what kind of crazy person actually lived in or near water? Nasty stuff, beaten out only by snow in that department.

...and OK, so this girl wasn't exactly difficult to look at, but Tahu was a stubborn creature, and Ta-Wahi would completely freeze over before he ever admitted something like that.

Still...she _had_ saved him. Sort of. It had taken her a hell of a lot of effort to say even that one word, and though he had repaid the favor by saving her not even a few minutes later, she had already shown that she was nothing if not observant. He hadn't even realized that he was being stalked by that Shallows Cat-whatever-thing, and the thought of how close he'd come to being that thing's next meal was not a pleasant one.

He scowled as another thought occurred to him. Though not overly fond of the idea of sticking with someone he hardly knew, he had to admit that they hadn't done too badly together. Her powers of observance would go nicely with his physical prowess.

...and plus, he was kind of hopelessly lost anyway, so hopefully she would know how exactly they were supposed to find their way around from here. He'd been intending to go near the volcano, but had somehow managed to lose track of himself and was trying to find it again when he'd first startled her...and now here they were. Funny how these things worked out.

"OK, then!" he said loudly. "I have an idea, so just hear me out. Don't have a fit, but I think it'd be a good idea to stick together for a while."

She stared at him blankly, her eyes wide.

Tahu sighed, pressing one hand to his forehead in his usual nervous tic. Her gaze was making him extra aware of himself for some reason, and he wasn't sure if he liked that. "What I mean is," he said, "we didn't do too bad back there just now. I mean, I'd be a freaking Matoran sandwich by now if you hadn't warned me when you did, and I managed to get us out of there before it chased us, you know? Doubt it'd have turned out better if we'd been by ourselves - hell, you'd probably still be in that bush if not for me. Course, you were in there _because_ of me, but anyway, moving on..."

She placed one hand over her mouth. Was she scared? Disgusted? Angry? Spirits, how exactly was he supposed to react to this?

Contrary to all of the Ta-Matoran's frantic thoughts, Gali was not scared, or disgusted, or angry, but rather just very, very amused. And calm. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been this calm when around another person, much less someone she had literally just met. And who had scared the daylights out of her at first sight not even a half hour ago, on top of that. He certainly didn't seem to be a bad sort, even if his temper did appear to need a little work.

But what really sealed the deal was the almost sheepish way he extended one hand for her to shake and said, "Is that alright with you?"

He seemed surprised when she grasped his hand and smiled at him, but grinned back at her nonetheless.

"You still have to tell me your name," he reminded her as he let go. "I don't want to just be calling you 'Ga-Matoran' or 'girl' or whatever all the time, and I'm sure you don't want that either. So what is it?"

She took a deep breath, and the surprise that welled up in her when her throat didn't close almost kept her from answering by itself. But she was able to look him in the eye and say, still softer than she would have liked, "Gali."

Her voice was rusty after going so long without being used, and she desperately wanted to clear her throat and try again, but her new partner didn't seem to notice that at all. He just grinned at her again and said, "OK, then, Gali! I'm Tahu. I also happen to be lost, so you wouldn't know where the volcano is, would you? That's where I was heading when I, uh, found you."

...she could see herself remaining friends with this person in the future, she thought as she pointed westward.

* * *

><p>Honestly, Onua didn't know what he had been expecting when he was chosen for this test. An analytical being by nature, he was aware that there was probably some hidden meaning to all of this, though he was damned if he could discern what it was. He'd probably find out sooner or later, but not knowing was frustrating. Had he not been so aware of Turaga Otona's thought process when choosing him for it (because if Otona asked you to do something, that meant he knew you could do it), he might have been quite cross with him.<p>

The island of Daxia was much hotter than he was used to, and humid on top of that. He doubted anyone but the Ta- and Le-Matoran, and possibly the Po-, would truly feel at home here, and felt bad for the Ko- and Ga-Matoran. Surely they must be feeling the heat more than most...

He shook this thought from his head and remained hidden from the two he was currently shadowing. It had honestly surprised him when the Ta-Matoran had offered to form an alliance with the Ga-Matoran, and downright shocked him when she had accepted, though he supposed stranger things had happened in the history of the universe. It hadn't even occurred to him that making alliances was something he could have done - his general impression of this whole test had been one of personal ambitions.

Bring back one of the six hidden protodermis orbs. Right. He could do that, even if he had no idea where one of them might be.

Though, really, how was anyone supposed to be able to _find_ one of the blasted things? If they were buried, even an Onu-Matoran such as himself would be hard-pressed to discern the exact location in three measly days...

Likely they weren't buried, then, he had concluded sometime earlier that morning. Or not all of them were buried, in any case.

He turned his attention back to the two he was currently following, weighing his options. They had scared the daylights out of him when they had come running the way they had, though he'd just barely managed to get out of sight before either of them spotted him. They didn't seem too bad, he thought, carefully peeking out from behind a tree. The Ta-Matoran had gallantly offered his hand to the Ga-Matoran to help her over a large tree root, and she had shyly accepted.

Huh. Just met and already friends? Or were they planning to betray each other at some point? He hoped not; there was something very..._right_ about the two of them together. And besides that, the thought of betrayal left a bad taste in his mouth. He was a loyal creature by default, and it always pained him a little when such a thing occurred, even when he wasn't involved.

Onua had just barely moved to continue following them when the Ga-Matoran suddenly stopped, staring wide-eyed into empty space. Then, she broke contact with the Ta-Matoran, whirling around to stare at the spot where Onua was hiding. He remained very still, though he had no idea how she'd sensed him. He had excellent hearing, but he had barely been able to hear himself!

If he was lucky and didn't move, perhaps they would just keep going. Please, please, please...

"What's the matter?" he heard the Ta-Matoran ask loudly. The Ga-Matoran didn't answer, or if she did, it wasn't audible. But Onua cursed inwardly when he began to hear footsteps heading towards his hiding spot, and knew the jig was up.

Before he could be ousted, he stood up and stepped out from behind the tree, holding both hands up in surrender.

As he'd thought, the Ta-Matoran was glaring at him hostilely while the Ga-Matoran stayed back, gazing at him with wide eyes. Her eyes darted between him to her companion to empty space a few times, and if he hadn't known better, he would have said she was listening to something.

"Sorry about that," he said, smiling disarmingly. "I swear I wasn't going to hurt either of you. You just startled me, so I was trying to see if you were OK or not..."

"Were you now?" the Ta-Matoran shot back, not backing down. He crossed his arms and if he had been a little bigger, this coupled with the fierce glare on his face would have been quite intimidating. As it was, Onua was sure that that glare had kept a number of people from attempting to start something with him. "Or were you planning to just follow us and steal the orb if we managed to find it?"

"Well, that as well," Onua admitted, lifting his hands further up when the Ta-Matoran growled at him, "but I suppose that's not an option any longer, is it?"

"No, it's not," the Ta-Matoran confirmed, the glower on his face deepening. He stopped speaking when the Ga-Matoran stepped up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, turning to look at her. She seemed to be trying to say something, gesturing at Onua with her free hand, though the Ta-Matoran apparently remained unconvinced.

Finally, she spoke, her voice afflicted with the roughness of one that hasn't been used in a very long time. "He is...not bad," she said so quietly that Onua almost had to strain to hear her. "We can...t-trust him."

The Ta-Matoran stared at her incredulously. "And you know this...how?" he asked, not quite sarcastically.

She shook her head, gazing up at him imploringly. He stared back, but apparently she was done speaking for now.

The Ta-Matoran turned his head to look at Onua again, and the Onu-Matoran gave him a winning smile that made him roll his eyes.

Finally, after a few more minutes in which he was clearly debating with himself over it, the Ta-Matoran groaned in defeat. "Fine," he snapped, scowling when his companion smiled in relief. "You can come with us," he shot at Onua, "but don't try anything, or you'll regret it. I'll be watching you, understand?"

"Completely!" Onua agreed cheerfully, stepping forward with his hand outstretched to shake. The Ta-Matoran gripped it with a little more force than was necessary, and then he offered it to the Ga-Matoran, who was slightly more hesitant, though she offered him a small smile just the same. He smiled back.

Introductions! That was right, he didn't even know their names, having been too busy catching his breath and counting his lucky stars that he hadn't been noticed when they'd been introducing themselves to each other. "My name's Onua, by the way. And who do I have the honor of addressing?"

The Ta-Matoran still watched him warily, but eventually must have decided it was OK to divulge this information. "I'm Tahu, and she's Gali," he said, jerking a thumb at his blue companion.

Onua laughed and clapped a hand on both of their shoulders, making them flinch violently. Not much used to physical contact, either of them, he noted, particularly not Gali. Well, he'd have plenty of time to learn their various tics, likes, and dislikes. After all, they were going to be stuck with each other for the next few days; he might as well get to know them. "I'm sure we'll be great friends!" he said, grinning when Tahu stared at him as if he were crazy.

"Right," the Ta-Matoran said lowly, then cleared his throat and straightened up. "We were heading towards the volcano. Unless you have any objections, that's still where we're going. We'll break for the night once the suns go down. Are you ready?"

Onua nodded his affirmation, and they started off, Tahu in the lead with Gali right behind him and Onua bringing up the rear.

Well, this certainly wasn't what he'd been expecting, not in the least. But it wasn't entirely terrible, now that he thought about it. There was strength in numbers, and neither of these two seemed to be all that bad as far as personalities went. Sure, Tahu apparently had something of an anger management issue and Gali was rather more jumpy and timid than she should have been, but neither had made a move to harm him just yet. And with Tahu's protective instinct, Gali's observational skills, and his own variety of talents, that shot their chances of finding one of these orbs right on up.

There was just the issue of who would get to present the orb to the exam proctors at the end of all of this. Onua frowned as he pondered this, before eventually deciding that he could worry about it later. For now, it was better to concentrate on just locating one of the blasted things. They could work out who got to keep it later.

He wasn't even sure if he _wanted_ to be the one to present it, anyway. No one knew what the prize even _was_, and in Onua's experience, hidden surprises were always either completely amazing or absolutely terrible. Total opposites on the ends of the spectrum; never any middle ground. It just might be in his best interest to not be the one to keep the orb after it was found.

Be cautious. Be careful. Think before you act. That was how an Onu-Matoran operated, and he was no different.

...but for now, it wouldn't be too bad if he had a little fun, right? He found he rather liked both of his new companions, as...odd as they were.

* * *

><p>If Onua was enjoying himself with his new companions, Kopaka was most decidedly <em>not<em>.

Having put up with a chatty Po-Matoran for an entire afternoon, he was quite at the end of his patience for all this nonsense, and really couldn't wait for it to be all over and done with. He was never a social being, and never one for vagueness, both of which this event contained in spades. Exactly what was the point of collecting one of these spheres? To make everybody look ridiculous and turn on everyone else?

That wouldn't have surprised him, now that he thought about it...maybe. The fanged monstrosity that had been on the boat with them that final day had certainly seemed mocking enough to do something like this, and he'd gotten a somewhat similar impression from Jerbraz as well. Perhaps not quite as sadistic, but the same sense of laughing at the world around him. How utterly annoying.

And to make matters just that much worse, he was now being forced to check to see if the Le-Matoran who had nearly squashed him falling out of a tree was still alive. Not that Kopaka would ordinarily have cared much - if you were stupid enough to climb a tree without knowing how, then you deserved to fall - but once again the part of him that felt the need to help out had overcome him. Had this been back home, he might not have bothered. But this was an unfamiliar territory, with unfamiliar terrain and unfamiliar creatures, and his damned conscience wouldn't let him leave the stupid Le-Matoran where he lay.

Plus, Pohatu had threatened to sit on him if he tried to leave. There was that to consider as well.

"Is he dead?" the said Po-Matoran asked worriedly, looking over Kopaka's shoulder to the face of the unconscious Le-Matoran. He didn't back off at Kopaka's glare, which was surprising - usually that glare made everyone but Turaga Jiyo suddenly remember that they had urgent things to attend to and dash off.

"No," he replied, carefully checking the Le-Matoran's neck for a pulse - there it was, beating strong and fast. He'd probably have a nice lump on the back of his head for the next few days, though.

He looked up at the horizon, scowling when he saw that the suns were beginning to set, taking the day's light with them. There would be almost no point in continuing after dark - if they couldn't find a sphere at night, what were the odds of finding them during the day? Almost nothing. Unless they glowed in the dark or something, which would be even more annoying. Suppose you found one and then had to spend all night curled around it so that it didn't give away your position?

Spirits, he really wanted to go home.

"We should stay with him," Pohatu said, glancing from the Le-Matoran to the horizon as well. "He could get eaten or something. Or someone like Ahkmou could find him," he added, scowling as he thought of his former companion.

Kopaka muttered something unintelligible, but had to privately admit that Pohatu had a point. As much as he just wanted to move on - _alone_ - he could not, in good conscience, leave this Matoran here like this, knocked out and unable to defend himself. He sighed and got to his feet.

"You're carrying him," he told Pohatu, who brightened considerably at the words. He resisted the urge to scowl again and kept his face as carefully neutral as possible. "I'll see about finding somewhere safe to stay for the night, then we will take turns keeping watch. Now let's go, I want to find a place before the light is gone."

He turned on his heel and began to walk again, taking care not to trip over any exposed roots or stones as he went. They were on the side of the volcano now, and had been searching for a few hours when their new "friend" had so unceremoniously dropped on top of him. He had just barely managed to get out of the way before he got squished, but the Le-Matoran hadn't been so lucky. And now they were stuck carrying him around until he woke up.

How very _lucky_ of them.

He heard Pohatu call to him to wait, and consented to at least slow down as the Po-Matoran came huffing up to him, the Le-Matoran being carried on his back. The Le-Matoran's Miru mask came dangerously close to poking him in the neck, but he seemed not to care as he grinned at Kopaka.

"Well, this's probably the weirdest day of my life so far. Where're we sleeping? I'll take first watch if ya want."

Kopaka nodded and gestured for him to follow. At the very least, it seemed he would be able to get a few hours of sleep. He was forced to admit that, despite everything else, he had gotten saddled with a decent companion.

"We'll need food," he said, squinting through the trees. He'd seen some bushes with berries on them, but was unsure whether or not they were safe to eat. Same with the fruit that grew on certain specimens of the trees around here. He might have tried fishing if not for the fact that he had no equipment for it - oh sure, there was wood a plenty to fashion a rod out of, but no line and nothing even vaguely resembling a hook. And he wasn't keen on going near the water again so soon after what had happened the _last_ time he tried it. Someone might try to push him or Pohatu in again. No, they'd stick to vegetation for now. He was adamant about that. If only he could tell which ones were safe for consumption...

He mentioned this last part to Pohatu, who could offer nothing of use on the subject. Being from a desert, where both bushes and trees were something of a rarity, he had no idea which were good and which were poisonous either.

"I think we shouldn't eat the red ones," he said, squinting at a bush that practically bristled with bright red berries. "I sorta remember something about how those are usually bad. Or maybe it was just that they usually taste bad..."

Kopaka frowned. He was hungry, but he wasn't willing to risk his health just for a rumbling stomach. As much as he hated to admit it, they had hit a wall on the issue for now.

"We'll have to wait for him to wake up," Pohatu continued, gesturing with his head at the still-unconscious Le-Matoran. "He's from Le-Wahi, which is a jungle just like this place, so he could probably tell us a few things about it."

As much as Kopaka hated to admit it, that was most likely the best they were going to get out of it. After a few more minutes of thinking, he was forced to agree, and set about finding a safe place to camp for the night, ignoring the steadily growing hunger pangs in his stomach the whole while. He thought he did a good job, but one or two were audible and he thought he heard Pohatu snickering at him. It took a lot of willpower to ignore his companion at those, though it became easier when he heard the Po-Matoran's stomach growling as well.

Tomorrow, he was absolutely going to find a protodermis orb and just be done with all of this. And may the Spirits have mercy on anyone who tried to get in his way.

* * *

><p>"<em>When will I ever be able<br>To see the lost future from here again?  
>Let's move forward in this world<br>By shattering the overflowing shadows of anxiety again and again  
>Time begins to tick away incessantly<br>Let's open the closed door  
>While carrying our unchanging feelings."<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: This chapter seems...more light-hearted than the previous ones. Probably due to the general lack of uber-pessimistic characters being the ones in charge of the POV? Haha. I will forever love Kopaka and Pohatu's friendship, so of course there had to be some in here.<strong>

**I've touched upon Gali being able to see spirits in my stories before (which is more or less canon - she saw the spirits of Wairuha and Akamai in one of the way early comics after a Tarakava sucker-punched her into the ocean), but this is really the first time I've gone into the ramifications of such an ability. I've always been of the opinion that it would be a huge pain in the ass, to be honest, but hey. We'll see how it turns out for her.**

**And also some Tahu/Gali because they were the first pairing I ever hardcore shipped. They're certainly the first pairing I ever had fangirl fits over, so they hold a special place in my heart even though thirteen years have passed since I first discovered them. For those of you wondering if she will ever gain any confidence, the answer is of course yes. She will become more like her canon self in time. She's shy in here, but she's strong and she'll start kicking ass soon enough.**

**The lyrics at the top and bottom here are the English translation of "Connect" by ClariS, which also happens to be the opening theme to **_**Puella Magi Madoka Magica**_**. I felt it was relevant, especially with the upbeat tune of the song. And bonus points if you know where Jerbraz's song came from.  
><strong>

**Thank you to those who are still reading this thing! See you next time!**


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